False Smiles
by PixieGirl17
Summary: Sequel to 'Krimson Underground', set four years after. Aella, leader of the Underground, but has visions which are becoming worse and still thinks about Damas. With forces other than Praxis beginning to close in and she doesn't know who to turn to...
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Jak and Daxter and I do not own Just A Little Girl by Amy Studt. All copyrights belong to the songwriters/composers etc

**A/N: **Hey guys! I just wanted to say a few things before you started reading the awaited sequel to **Krimson Underground. **The first thing I might suspect you guys may be asking is why this story isn't called**Destined Mother **as it was originally going to be called and basically its because I wasn't really keen on the title and also I was listening to my itunes and a British artist called Amy Studt started playing. You may not be familiar with her but when I started listening to her I kind felt like she was singing about Aella for some reason and I thought maybe I could base her journey on her album False Smiles, hence the title of this story.

This is basically going to begin four years after the end of **Krimson Underground **and is actually going to take her through to after Jak is born so this is going to be a rather long story in fact if you really want to know its going to be including the prologue and the epilogue, fifty-one chapters long. I don't know at this point if this is going to change but that is all I can really tell you at this point. So I'm going to stop talking and let you read.

I know this makes me sound like a geek but if you want to know an interesting thing I found out, the name Aella is not made up entirely, it means 'whirlwind' in Greek and is the name of an Amazon warrior killed by Herakles (or Hercules as he is also known as) when on the task/quest to obtain Hippolyta's girdle. So that was an interesting thing I found out and I might incorporate those meanings a little bit into the story. Anyway. Shutting up now and enjoy the first chapter.

Prologue

For **Mental Verin**

_Sometimes I feel you're not listening_

_Sometimes I feel you don't understand_

_But I think I've got the answer_

_Already know what you're gonna say_

'_Cause I'm just a little girl you see_

_But there's a hell of a lot more to me_

_Don't ever underestimate what I can do_

_Don't ever tell me how I'm meant to be_

_-Just A Little Girl, Amy Studt_

~ (***) ~

_After leaving your father in the desert I went to a life of desolation and secrecy back in the city where those who were in control wanted me dead. But I was a hard woman to find alive, let alone a resistance fighter who was hard to kill. I saw the future my child and I knew my legacy would live on past the death which I gladly gave up if I had to. Obviously, most people would think that I took the wrong option and because of that I made the worst decision of my life but you know me, my darling, I have no regrets. I refuse to give in to such a thing. Your uncle, along with many people, and it was not very many, who heard this story, except for the proposal of marriage thought I was a fool or mad. Perhaps I was both. I always had my moments when I knew I had something stupid or beyond the limits of sanity. But still no regrets. Some people would turn and run. That isn't in my nature, then again I turned and ran from my destiny because it wasn't part of my plan. That was something which scared me the most. Others may have accepted your fathers offer and simply forgot what they left behind. However as you may have well gathered I am not like many people. I was not afraid to die for what I believed. Something else which not many people had. I was not afraid to face death and laugh back. It wasn't just from the government it was those for all directions._

_Power is a word which has to be used with great caution because it can mean a lot of things, Jak. I only say these things because I fear you may be corrupted as I once was. It is a concept in itself to be feared also. With the combination of imagination sometimes it can have no limits and it can also endlessly feed the greed of empty souls. I've seen it happen and that is why I am telling you this because I know you will be going down a road where you shall be tempted by such things. Don't ever use that word until you have fully understood what it means and have thought about it prior to opening your mouth and speaking as to whether it is the right word to use in that context. It is a word which has echoed across the centuries and has been used far too many times. Power can also be attributed to the power a government has over a city or country. It can refer to the power a gang leader has over the streets. It could be a power to see the future gifted by a deity for unknown reasons. It could even refer to the power I had over the city. I sound a little hypocritical and egotistical but in some ways that was actually the case. Otherwise Praxis wouldn't be so afraid of me as he would search for me endlessly throughout the city. He wouldn't have driven your father and I away. You may think that this may be somewhat ironic to say I have any power at all but allow me to explain._

_When there is a corrupted government it is able to have control over everywhere in the sector which it controls as we can take into account the fact that it will have connections with the underground crime ring. It will have control over the monastery because there would of course be riots if anyone broke the law which can be dominated to a certain extent by the religion or belief of that particular area. This soon spreads like a disease and soon the people begin to follow suit. They are so drunk on their own power it is unbelievable. I never thought that such power could be possible and that so much freedom could be diminished in such little time in the name of justice. Yet again another dangerous word to use in terms of how it is applied. Never did they believe that they could achieve this much. They are soon blinded by this power and are unable to see the dangers of behaving this way coming. You must always be alert and by doing so you must be, like your father was, always focused and never to let that power get to your head. Another problem this creates is that as a result of stretching their legal as well as moral capabilities they forget those who remember those boundaries. That being me and I must admit I have no shame into admitting I was the one who solicited that fear._

_Now in the actions that I took in the first few years of being leader of the underground is that like a cure to a disease I reminded the people of these morals and principles and the amount of crime began to sway. I still didn't understand how they were so easy to cure as I could say. They were so quick to dismiss the rightful King for another, so easily as I could have swayed them back to that old belief in their true king. Although I told them a lie, a terrible lie as terrible as the one Praxis told them. He told them that their king was a traitor. I told them that their king would return to save them. Praxis had told them he was gone for good, I convinced them otherwise even though in reality this was never to be the case. In that sense I could truly committed a crime. Although then again it depends of your idea of crime actually is. A crime in Haven City under Praxis' rule could arguably be called justice as the funny thing about a corrupt government is that law and morality are completely different things. I soon began to withhold the power to actually overthrow Praxis not through means of wealth or social standing but through the ways which always got me to the success I once had and that was always sticking to the right path and never looking sideways. Sheer willpower. If you stray from it as Praxis did and always will do you will gradually begin to lose that power._

_Also those in power also forget the power of revolutionary. Revolution is very rightfully seen as a virus but some can be used to cure the virus which threatens to kill the body. I am that very cure, as you will be._

~ (***) ~

Aella sat in the little hideout which had been the closest thing she could call home for the past four years waiting from her brother to return along with the rest of the teams from their mission. She looked at the night sky wondering for a moment whether she was watching the moon and the stars at the same time as Damas...She still thought about him more than she cared to admit. She was never going to rid herself of the staining of his lips on hers. Sometime she could feel the burning on her lips on hers. It made her go red thinking about it and turned back to the task at hand. That was why she was still here after all. She twirled the dagger in her hand for a few minutes and got bored putting it back in the holder on her hip and paced around the room for a few minutes and also got bored of that. She was restless as well as annoyed. Beforehand she had an argument with them all, meaning the rest of the Underground. They were trying to suggest different ways of running the operation and even told her that it may be best if she sat out of this one for the time being. That was what got her really annoyed. They looked at her, despite being the leader and only saw her as a weak, naïve woman when she was perhaps older than most of them and thought it would be best if she sat on the sidelines. They all claimed that she was worried about her, just like Damas was and if she went into battle they wouldn't be in this situation.

When she set up the Underground she had no intention of being the kind of leader who organised and then set everyone off to their possible deaths. She was the kind that if a king was to issue a command of someone's execution she would be the one to swing the sword. She had no fear of getting her hands dirty. She never feared anything. She was never like that when she worked for the Krimson Guard and she wasn't about to start to behave like that now. She was the kind of leader who planned and was the first one out the door. However recently her visions had become worse and even came during some missions which did endanger those on her team but they also thought this may be a result of stress. There had to be some medical reason why she had them at certain times or when she went days or even weeks without having one. There was no way she was just able to bring them to her if she wanted. Not unless there was someone out there who could train her mind. She was interpreting this as a sign that they were afraid of the consequences of their actions and wanted to find a politer way of leaving the Underground. She was about to do something which she knew she would regret later but at the present time was something to curb her anger. Her brother stepped forward and took her to one side.

"Sit this one out, Aella. Please."

She glared at her younger brother and replied through gritted teeth. "You know how long it has taken me to set this operation up. I run it. It is my life on the line so don't think-"

"You don't think these guys are sacrificing themselves? You don't think they are in any danger? Aella please. You're becoming more and more dangerous for the team. Just give it a few weeks. Sort this out and maybe it will be okay. Please." He implored.

However since they still remained it was pretty obvious that this wasn't the case. There had been no visions that night which annoyed her even more. They were worried about nothing and they were going to know it once they got back.

~ (***) ~

The night was quiet as usual in their sanctuary. Metrodona wondered when Onin was going to join them up in the mountains. She remembered during the purges two years ago that instead of leaving the city she decided to stay behind. She felt that it was her duty rather than run away in the opposite direction. She remembered that her parting words were that she was to be their protector from fear. If they needed hope for the future they would just have to come to her and tell them when their salvation would come. Metrodona asked after this salvation and Onin simply told her that her visions of this hope would come to her when the time was right...

Metrodona looked up and smiled when she saw Seem come in. "Seem...Is there something the matter?"

Seem gave her a fearful look. "I saw something. Something terrible...Metrodona."

The young girl began to cry. She remembered when she first found her on the street after her parents had died in a fire. She had so much fear in her eyes. She would always remember that but it was undeniable that she had the vision. So many people did have these gifts but they didn't realise it. They had no idea how much they had to give to the monasteries. They had no idea how much they were needed by the world...

She wrapped her arms around her and stroked her hair. "Shhh. It's alright, child. There is nothing to fear. There is nothing to fear as long as she comes to us..."

"Who?"

She was silent for a long time. She had to be honest she didn't know how to answer her. She only really saw her. She simply saw her walking towards the temple, speaking the oracle and walking into the fire without fear. That was all she could tell her if she was to ask of her vision but she knew that would never be enough.

"The next Aella..."


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Jak and Daxter and I do not own Just A Little Girl by Amy Studt. All copyrights belong to the songwriters/composers etc

**A/N: **Hey! Sorry about the short chapter but I just wanted to get things going and I also hope you guys are going to enjoy this story. I just wanted to mention about the new characters which may play a large role in the upcoming plot. Antiope, a new member of the Underground actually came from the name of another Amazon and is actually the queen of the Amazons as well as being the daughter of Ares in Greek mythology, even though this says the same for Hippolyte but anyway. Her name also means 'voice' and 'set against' which I thought would be a good name for someone in a political, resistance group.

Also Babak is named after a resistance leader Babak Khorramdin in the 9th century and it also means 'little father' which will doubt knowing me will be incorporated into his character/personality.

Chapter One

For **Will of the Heart**

_You say I'm just a little girl, just a little girl_

_How can I compare? What do I know?_

_What have I got to share?_

_But there's nothing in this world, nothing in this world_

_That could hold me down, can't you hear me?_

_Just A Little Girl, Amy Studt_

~ (***) ~

Nik looked around the corner to see if the coast was clear. He stared into the darkness and waited a moment but not too long upon the risk of getting caught. He leaned back and pressed himself against the wall again. The corridors were hauntingly quiet. Too quiet considering it was the weapons factory which had just imported goods which had not been made public and was listed as food supplies. It was a joke. If something was being shipped to the weapons factory under a false name it only meant one thing: that the Baron was planning something which he didn't want the rest of the city knowing about. Even a four-year-old would be able to figure out that there was something wrong.

Aella looked over what they had found with a smirk curling up from the corner of her lips and nodded at them in approval. She immediately started to plan an attack on the city. She thought that if they attacked the only things the Baron was depending on if he had to actually take out those who actually got him in power in the first place then the city would riot if the Baron was proving to be an incompetent ruler. However Nik thought that her smile just seemed a little too evil. Over the years he was increasingly becoming worried about his older sister but his anxieties were intensifying over the recent months. Ever since she had set up the Underground she had become obsessed with taking down Praxis. She had started this plan, technically, way before the beginning the Underground was formed but now that hatred which drove her efforts had become a lot more intense.

He turned around and nodded to the others, consisting of Antiope and Babak. "It looks like everything's clear but we still need to be careful. It's too quiet for what they've just shipped in."

"What if it's a trap?" Antiope whispered.

Nik nodded and considered this to be a strong possibility but he knew he had to do something. He knew Aella would be pissed if they hadn't achieved at least something. He put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's going to be okay. We're all going to get out of here alive."

"That's not what I'm worried about, Nik." She hissed. "I'm worried about whether there is a reason why there's a set up. Maybe they want to capture us. Torture us for information."

"That's not going to happen." Nik assured her. He looked her up and down and continued. "I also would've thought that you wouldn't be worried about ending up in that situation, Antiope."

He remembered when Antiope first walked into their hideout when she approached Nik in the street oh-so-confidently and demanded in a no-bullshit manner to be taken to the leader of the Underground. He had to admit for someone so long he was quite impressed. He could see he wasn't like most girls her age. In some ways she reminded him of his older sister when she was fifteen. However he could imagine she hadn't been through half as much as Aella had been throw by the time she was her age. At the time she was a girl of fifteen and had been recently orphaned two years before when her father who was a soldier died in battle and her mother died as a result of an illness with an expensive cure. Praxis, who should've given them compensation for the death of their father had not given it to them in time and actually claimed that they were not eligible for it in the first place and gave some pathetic reason for thinking so. The scorned-fifteen-year-old did the only thing she felt she could do and that was the fight back. Nik was worried about this at first but Aella was too blinded by empathy that she let the girl come on board and even took her in as her personal little sister. Now seventeen-years-old and Nik was beginning to wonder whether it was his age which was the cause of him being constantly concerned about her.

"That's not it." She hissed defensively. "I've been hearing things. People being taken off the streets for no reason whatsoever. I don't know why but that's just what I heard. No one comes back, Nik. I don't know whether it's people who are being tortured for information or for something else."

"What else could it be?" Babak asked.

She turned to him and glared. "Think about it. If some people were being tortured for information at least one person would be released. As a warning to the person they're trying to find. So it can only be that they're doing something else to them."

Nik listened with anxiety rising in his chest. She was right. Something was going on. "Well unfortunately if this is the case we will have to find out what Praxis is up to. It's our job to stop him and whatever shit he's doing."

He turned away and back to the corridor. He knew what was at the end of it. There would be a door to where they would have to plant the bomb and pray for a miracle. He gulped and without any more hesitation he ran from his hiding place into the darkness...

~ (***) ~

"I can't understand why you just don't-"

"BECAUSE YOU SIMPLY DON'T UNDERSTAND THESE THINGS, CORTENSA!" The Baron roared.

Their eighteen-year-old daughter, Ashelin could hear from the balcony outside her room. She leaned over the side and looked over the city, taking in the sounds and the breath of the wind brushing against her skin. She scrunched her eyes whenever one of her parents shouted particularly loudly as if to try to block it out. She would prefer to live in her own home anyway. She didn't understand why her father didn't allow her to live outside the palace grounds. She was old enough and she deserved at least a little independence for her father. She felt that she had it but that there was still a wall around her she just couldn't see it because it was so far away. She enrolled into training with the Krimson Guard two years ago after being told by a previous female Captain under Damas' rule that she had what it takes she knew it was the green light. Her father wasn't so enthusiastic about the idea of his daughter becoming a warrior but he eventually warmed to the idea. She flew through the examinations and actually graduated sooner than most. There was one trainer which looked at her before she left and said that no one had flew by the examinations as swiftly as Captain Auroalis. Lady Auroalis...

Everyone knew she was still alive no matter what her father claimed. She remembered looking into the eyes of the twenty-something woman when she was fourteen-years-old and could see nothing could kill that woman. She had looked death in the face too many times to be so easily killed. He had then claimed a few months after her 'death' that she was in league with Damas. Now she knew that what her father had said were lies. She from conversations she heard him having with her associates that he was plotting to overthrow Damas. She would've said something but before she did she witnessed her father abusing her mother when they spoke of it and she even threatened to go to the King. She didn't want to have to face that same situation either. She stopped believing what her father said years ago. When she was first officially 'Princess' of Haven City she looked down from the ridiculous palace and down at the city and hoped for a better place.

"Ashelin."

She smiled when she heard the familiar, husky voice and turned round, leaning against the side. "Hey Torn. What you're doing here?"

Torn smirked. "I have to have a reason to see the Baron's daughter." Ashelin gave him a look which made him have to smother his laughter. "I came here to tell you to come to the weapons factory."

"Why?"

"One of the alarms were triggered. They're afraid that if it's extremists they might need more assistance."

"Don't they have enough security there?"

Torn looked down guiltily. "I don't want to say this to you, Ashelin but...I think your father is becoming too arrogant. He thinks no one can touch him. There's hardly anyone guarding that place tonight and the security on the transfer of the weapons was disgraceful."

Ashelin turned away. "I know. Anyway, we better get there soon. We're wasting time standing around here talking."

Just at that moment the worst happened. An explosion soared through the air coming from the factory. Ashelin wasn't thinking at the time, probably because she thought all of this was nothing to worry about and everyone was basically making a big deal out of nothing. So when the explosion went off she didn't instinctively duck or even jump into action. She just stood their in astonishment. Torn grabbed onto Ashelin out of concern that it was closer than that. She looked over her shoulder to see his face close to hers which almost made her blush. She turned her eyes in the direction of something else which was more worrying at the moment in time. Torn and Ashelin ran back to the balcony and stared at the flames which was engulfing the factory, ready to devour anything else in its path, including housing around in that area. The two KG officers turned to one another and without another seconds thought ran out to the closest hovercraft.

~ (***) ~

"Stop!"

"Over there!"

"I see them!"

Nik, Antiope and Babak were running for their lives. They had been running for their lives every day but at the moment that phrase had become quite literal. They had successfully planted the bomb. They had successfully got out of the building. However slipping by unnoticed and undetected was another matter. Subtly and stealth weren't exactly the Underground's specialty. He glanced over his shoulder and nodded for Babak to go in one direction and for Antiope to go in another. They would go to a place where they knew they could hide until everything was clear and head back to base which still hadn't been found. It was the same place Aella had hidden in while she was thinking of what to do next. He was shocked that no one had found them yet, even if it was in a poky little corner in the Slums.

Speaking of which, as he was thinking and running at the same time (never a good idea but still...) He thought it best to make a little detour before actually heading back to base. In case he did get caught it would be always best if they weren't given even the vaguest idea as to where they were hiding Aella and where all the operations were taking place. Or if they waited back it would give him the idea that he had lost them when in fact they were just following him. Either way, it would be a stupid idea to go straight there. He needed to give himself time to loose them anyway and he knew the perfect place in order to do that...When he was running through the Bazar he jumped through a tapestry hanging outside someone's property and hid for a while. He prayed for as long as he could hear the sound of feet pounding against the ground and their shouts bouncing across the walls. He heard their voices organising themselves and deciding the next course of action. He was shaking all over. He had never been this scared before and he had been in worser scraps than this. He reached into his pocket and took out the communicator. He knew that Aella would be wringing her wrists wondering if they were alright.

"Base, come in." He said quietly. "Base, come in. This is Lurker to inform of the completion of the mission."

He waited a while listening to only static until he heard a familiar voice on the other end. "I could hear the explosion from the slums. I'm not deaf. Thanks for telling me you're okay anyway. Muse out."


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Jak and Daxter and I do not own Just A Little Girl by Amy Studt. All copyrights belong to the songwriters/composers etc

Chapter Two

For **Flouder5**

_Don't you understand_

_That I wanna be myself, wanna be the girl,_

_Wanna be the one that you can rely on_

_How I wish that you could see all there is of me_

_How I long to hear that you take me_

_For who I am_

_-Just A Little Girl, Amy Studt_

~ (***) ~

_I missed your father more than I would and could admit in that time. I never told anyone but for those who knew him and still helped us in our efforts I think they knew. They knew in my moments of anger, silence and the very occasionally moments where I looked remotely distressed, they knew I was thinking of him. I don't want to go too much into it, darling. I was too obsessed with what I was trying to achieve to realise that it was not only my anger towards Praxis but also towards your father which drove me in my efforts. I felt that in his absence I was the only one who could carry on fighting for the citizens of Haven City. I felt how selfish it was of him to leave this city, his birthright behind just because the people were naïve. It wasn't their fault. I also felt that if I fought hard enough he may find some glimmer of hope and return. I would not return to his side. I was not that delusional. I knew that from that point everything had changed and it could not be undone. I hadn't spoken to him in fours years either so I couldn't really have a clear idea of what I wanted or what he wanted with regards to the city._

_I only wanted to do what he would will to do with the city if he was still there. I was a soldier of Haven City but only swore allegiance to a King that no longer ruled. He probably wanted nothing when looking back in hindsight. However I was still blindly hopeful. I suppose in some ways I was also naïve. A true Haven City citizen. I was a child screaming at the door. Banging her fists as she wailed for her parents to pay attention to her but no one wanted to know or hear what I had to say. I wanted to help. I wanted to know what I was doing for him, for the city but he didn't want to listen. He didn't want to know. He had given up and he didn't have a care for the welfare of the city. We could've been dead from an invasion of metalheads and he wouldn't have cared less. In moments where my strong-will power was beginning to wane I had to remind myself that I wasn't completely doing all of this for him. I was doing this for the sake of the city and reminded myself of the fact that Damas wasn't the only person I actually cared about. There was my friends, my family, even you. You weren't in the world yet but I cared about the future that you would have. Even though knowing that you would be the one to make it better. Not me._

_However I was stubborn. I wanted to be the one to save the world. I wanted to relieve you of that burden. However in all these anxieties and things running through my head I was also the one finding it difficult to dodge the obstacles which I was running straight towards. I could see I was even losing control over my own men in this time. They could see why I was really there. I wasn't there for the city. I was there because I wanted Damas' approval. They were the two reasons. The city being the main reason why I was there but obtaining your father's approval was what I hoped to be the end result of my efforts. The city was the present reason. Damas was something which I looked to as something to hope for in the future. I wanted him to be so proud of me that he would come back and embrace the city. Not me necessarily but the city at least. I was capable of sacrificing that chance at love and companionship for the city. I know it sounds very unbelievable in a world such as ours but there have been some. I think it was because I had become so hardened towards the world that I willed myself to not think about him and to stop loving him. But the harder I tried the more difficult it became._

_In all these contradictions, these uncertainties I can see now that I was unable to lead the Underground as efficiently as I was able to. At the time I couldn't hear and I didn't want to hear what my brother was telling me. He knew I was facing these difficulties. He knew better than I did what was going on in my head. I was becoming so confused, so mixed up in what I wanted. I was simply focusing on Praxis' demise so that I didn't get distracted by anything else. I knew I had a million things on my mind all the time so I thought focusing on that to the point of obsession may prevent me from steering away from that path. I was in between the present and the future. I didn't know what I wanted anymore. I wasn't sure what I had to do and soon enough I was becoming uncertain of everything..._

~ (***) ~

Aella waited as Nik, Babak and Antiope came back from the mission. She wasn't expecting them to be rushing in five minutes after she heard the explosion but it had been an hour now and she was beginning to get worried. She knew there was a high possibility of there being tight security and therefore being seen but she hoped that the long wait didn't mean that they had been captured. When she heard the faint sound of an explosion in the distance she knew they had succeed. She played it cool when her brother contacted her but she was secretly worried beforehand about whether he was alright in the first place. She wanted to seem calm considering their previous exchange. She wanted to show him that she could be clear headed. If people were going to start questioning her leadership skills she might as well start behaving that she could be calm in times when she could be emotionally compromised.

She had a feeling that this may be the reason people thought she was beginning to lack in leadership skills. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she waited and started to bite her fingernails, which was what she did when she was very rarely nervous. Just because she could hear an explosion it wasn't a signal for them to have blown up the building and had got out alive. She tapped her fingernails on the table after getting bored with biting them as she waited for the communicator lying on the table to ring for an incoming transmission. She waited for what seemed like a century until she heard a buzz coming from the table, making her jump in her seat. It went static for a minute and she heard something which could be considered to be her younger brother on the other side but the reception didn't seem all that clear.

She looked at the communicator grimly before picking it up thinking that they really needed to find a technical expert to work for the Underground.

"_Base, come in. Base, come in. This is Lurker to inform of the completion of the mission."_

She took the communicator up with a shaking hand and brought close to her mouth. "I could hear the explosion from the slums. I'm not deaf. Thanks for telling me you're okay anyway. Muse out."

She switched it off and put it down before she got too emotional. She didn't want to get too emotionally involved than she was already was. It was bad enough that there was the slight element of her having feelings for the previous king who was also the reason for her setting up the underground in the first place let alone for her to start being an overprotective sister. She had enough problems as it is. Speaking of which, she hadn't had a vision in a while which only meant that there was one coming quite soon. It was funny how it was like a woman's monthly visit from the crimson tide. If you couldn't remember when you had the last one it only meant the next one was coming soon. Or that you were pregnant. She slumped back into her chair and craned her neck back and stared up at the ceiling. Her brother was coming. He's okay. He's coming back. Everything is fine. The plan was successful. Everything is...There is was. That overwhelming feeling where she felt she couldn't breathe and that she was being pulled from this world into another. Before she could protest she already a bright light encircling around her and throwing her into the future.

~ (***) ~

_**Whatever deal the Baron made with the Metal Heads, the city's eco is almost gone, and his time is running out. If we don't get the kid back on the throne soon, there may not be a city left to defend!**_

_Aella recognised the man from her previous visions and knew he was going to become a part of the Underground. She didn't know when but the problem was she noticed that he still wore his KG uniform as she still did, which could only mean that she was going to have some ex-Praxis followers or ex-KG joining her team. Then again he had the tattoos which the Baron started to encourage KG officers to have as if he was branding them as his own. The only problem was that she was worried that this may lead to there being double agents if she wasn't too careful. He seemed like a fairly trustworthy person when it came to his loyalty to the Underground but in a war like this you could never be too careful._

_However the one thing which seemed to stand out the most from this particular vision was the mention of eco. If the Baron was trading that with the metalheads he was more of fool than she thought. That was the main source of energy that the city had and their only chance for survival was to keep a good store of it too. They couldn't continue to have this war for his own benefit. He would have to eventually put an end to it other wise they were all doomed including himself. She also shook her head at the thought of having her son on the throne at so young. She still didn't understand why they were behaving like they didn't know who Jak was and were treating the little boy like he was the heir to the throne._

_**Finally, you've decided to join us and you brought the Precursor Stone. Good. The boy will now play his final part.**_

_The boy the metalhead leader was referring to was the little boy who kept on being referred to as her son. Maybe he had a role to play after all..._

_**Oh, but this child is such a part of this! Such a part of you! Don't you recognize him? The boy is you, Jak! And this place... this is where you began, in the future!**_

_What? What? That's Jak? How come there's a young Jak and an older Jak? How does any of this make sense?_

_**You were hidden in the past on the hope that you would gain the skills to face me today. But Onin was wrong! Now that you've been altered with Dark Eco, the stone will never open for you. Your younger self, however, still has the pure gift! He alone can awaken the Stone and the Precursor entity, which sleeps inside!**_

_Damn you Praxis..._

_**The last Precursor egg! Mar was clever. He covered his tracks well through time, hiding his last egg from me, and building the shield and city to defend it! It has been a long siege. But today, I will finally feed on the last Precursor Life Force!**_

~ (***) ~

"AELLA!"

Aella found herself back in the hideout with Nik, Antiope and Babak looked down at her with concerned looks on their faces.

"Are you okay?" Nik asked. "You had another vision didn't you?"

"Yeah. I thought you would all be used to this by now." She joked.

Nik looked away. "Well you were screaming this time."

"What?"

"Something about eco and metalheads. You also mentioned someone called Jak and Onin."

Aella looked away. "It was probably nothing."

Nik shook his head. "I don't think so. There's actually someone in the bazaar known by that name. She's some mystic of some sort."

"Really? Do you know how to find her?"

~ (***) ~

Ashelin and Torn looked out at the wreckage as they surveyed KG officers evacuating citizens who lived in the nearby area and attempting to put out the fire. As they watched they knew there was no way that her father was going to be happy about this. She knew he was going to be more explosive than the bomb which destroyed the factory since he was already in a bad mood. She also knew for two reasons that this wasn't going to be good for the citizens of Haven City either. First, he was going to take the expenses of the weapons from their tax which would lead to an increase and also there was going to be another mass search. Or that was what usually happened. This was more serious. She could even see a mass purging coming this way.

"Something really bad is about to happen. I know it." She murmured without thinking about the fact that Torn was standing right next to her.

"What do you thinks going to happen?"

She looked at him dismissively and as she walked away she replied, "This is my father we're talking about Torn. You know what he's capable of."


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Jak and Daxter and I do not own Testify by Amy Studt.

Chapter Three

For **Leale**

_I've been cheating myself for too long._

_Living as if I was going nowhere,_

_And I know it's wrong,_

_I've been fighting myself for too long,_

_I try, really try to keep my head up high,_

_And I know it's wrong,_

_And I should really know better,_

_But it's been so long_

_Testify, Amy Studt_

~ (***) ~

Aella hated going through the sewers but what she also knew was that it was a lot better than being captured by the Krimson Guard and being thrown into a prisoner cell. So she had to get through the city the only way she could without getting caught and this was the only route she could take. If she was seen on the street she would be spotted within a few seconds unless in a hovercar. She was more or less the number one enemy of the government. Not exactly which was hoped for in her when she was born nor when she entered into the Krimson Guard. Then again this wasn't the first time when she lived her life as a criminal. It wasn't something which was new to her. She felt like one when she knew how to expertly avoid getting caught. She knew that there were motion detectors down here as she could recall they were installed soon before she signed up with the Krimson Guard since it was the most popular method the crime rings used to ship or transport illegal goods. So she also knew how to get past without setting on off. Basically since they they never thought that they would go in the water she hovered across it on her hover board. It would be a little difficult carrying something heavy while walking or swimming through a stinking sewer most wouldn't do the job or would give up halfway through.

She wasn't saying that the whole place was bugged but there were a few places where if you stepped on the wrong part of the walkway you would set off an alarm. She glanced down at the hoverboaord after a moment of feeling a little bit wobbly. She was sure that it was find and maybe it was just nerves just from the recent things which had been happening to her. Although she was a little unsure whether it was still working considering it was about four to five years old. Give or take. It was also a really old model and actually thought about somehow getting a new one. Where she was going to get one she had no idea. This yet again reinforced the need that they had for a technical expert on the team because she couldn't imagine herself being able to walk into somewhere and request getting a new hoverboard without the owners wanting to call the police and plus she didn't have the money. She glanced around her surroundings nervously and sighed. She had no idea where she was going. She just followed the directions her brother gave her which was carry on going down the main sewer line and keep checking your locator. Since she came to the point where she was hovering down the sewer not knowing where she was at all and checked her locator to see where she was in terms with where she would be above the ground.

She was just approaching the bazaar but she was still in the Industrial district. She recalled where she might be and knew she had to start being careful now and she was becoming dangerously close to where the palace was and knew that security was going to be really high at the moment, considering the amount of damage the Underground had just caused. She looked around for an exit and saw one above her head. It was a vent which looked like she could just crawl out of it. She may have been around five foot seven but that didn't make it impossible for her to get through small spaces. She had a muscular shaped body however due to her fairly tall height this gave her a slim figure which allowed her to slip through such small spaces. She flipped over the hoverboard and jumped onto the side over the sensors and onto the metal ladder. She staggered a little but her strong grip onto ladder and climbed up to the vent. She grabbed the handle and pushed it open the vent and peered out before she climbed out into the early dawn. She rubbed her eyes thinking that she hardly had any sleep and hoped she could follow the directions correctly.

"Pssst."

Aella whipped her head around and stared into the darkness cautiously. She looked in all directions and saw nothing.

"Pssst."

She looked behind her and still there was nothing there. She was sure she heard it coming from the basket and approached it slowly reaching out with her hand to take off the lid until she found a monkey's face right up in front of hers.

"HEEEELLLLLOOO? ARE YOU DEAF?"

Aella fell back and stared up at what seemed to be a some flying creature with a parrots body with a monkey face. It was staring down at her with an annoyed expression on his or its face. She guessed it was a he just from his voice.

"For crying out loud!" He looked around as he hovered and nodded his head in a random direction.

"Follow me."

As she got to her feet she blinked at him. "Why?"

He looked over his shoulder and tutted. "Do you want to see Onin or not?"

"How do you-"

"Because Onin knows everything now stop wasting time or do you want to get caught by the Krimson Guard?"

She considered this for only a split second and nodded. She followed him down the alleyway through the stores which she knew were about to open within the next couple of hours so people would still be asleep. Still she had to move through the narrow lanes as swiftly as possible as the narrower and more crowded the area the more likely she would be detected unless under some form of shelter. She ducked under things hanging from window to another from across the way. She had avoid falling over pots and other goods left out just to be stolen. Some people were becoming more careless nowadays. Or maybe they had given up the will to even care. He finally brought her to a tent in the middle of a courtyard and walked in through the entrance. There were pots, mystic instruments and all the things you would imagine hanging around a mystics room. She looked ahead to see Onin who looked like she was more than two hundred years old because her skin was so saggy and wrinkly. She was skinny and sitting with her legs crossed which was a position, Aella presumed, she sat in all day long. She looked like she was sleeping at first but then she looked up with her blank eyes which startled Aella for moment and jumped back. She clapped her hands and waved around as something glittery waved around where she took her hands as if she was drawing in mid-air with magic.

"By the way I am Onin's interpreter. Pecker. Onin welcomes you. Blah, blah, blah, blah. She says it is a honour to finally meet one of few oracles we have left in the worl- JEEZ LOUISE! You're an oracle?" He asked frantically as he flew in her face.

Aella waved him away in annoyance and replied, "Yes. If it means I get random visions of the future every now and then. Yes, that is what it means."

"Great Precursors! There hasn't been one of you in ages! There hasn't been one since that guy passing through the city about twenty seven years ago."

Aella's ears pricked at this and looked up. "What guy?"

"Oh. Just some guy. I can't remember his name. While he was here he was staying with a party animal of a woman. Woo! I only met her once and once was enough if you know what I mean. I think he wanted to take her under his wing as he felt he could heal her of her sins or whatever. Between you and me I think it would've been a real miracle to heal that woman." Aella could notice that Onin was getting annoyed with her interpreter and pulled at his feather. "Alright! Alright! She says that you came her as a result of a vision you had mentioning her name."

"Actually this isn't the first. I had another a few months ago where you welcome someone...well lets just say is going to be a huge help against Praxis and the metalheads."

"Reeeeaaaallllllly? You know I think we could do with an oracle around here. You know? Help us see what was coming and avoid people making stup- Wait a minute! You're that resistance leader? Aren't you? What are you doing here, eh? You want us to get arre- RAH! Lady! I know she is an oracle but I don't want to be thrown in prison."

Onin made a hand gesture which made Pecker roll his eyes and slump back in the bowl sitting on top her head. "Alright. Okay. Onin says that you need to stay in the city for a while. You need to continue to stay running the Underground which she has signed on for to help at times when you need it."

She nodded towards Onin respectfully. "Thank you."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't get too excited. Anyway. She says there are two more members which you need to stick around for. One is actually going to be replacing you."

"What?"

"Hey! Don't get angry at me! She's says- Wait!" Pecker looked up slowly and raised his eyebrow.

"Soooooooo...you've been hiding things from everyone eh? Not telling people that this person you keep seeing is actually your son. Who is the one to save us all. Who is to be the heir to the throne of Haven City. Who you haven't even given birth to yet? Come on, Lady. You already passed your healthiest years of childbearing. Let's not making it any worse."

"What did you say?" She demanded ferociously.

"Look! I'm just saying. Okay? Once you have appointed the new leader you need to leave the city."

"What? I came back to defend the city. I'm not going to abandon it."

"If you keep following your path and play your part in saving the world you'll be fine. Guilt free."

"And let me guess? It involves pushing one out?"

"Well if you want to get literal about this..." He chuckled. "Yes."

Aella let out a noise of frustration and stamped her foot. "Hey it could be worse! Your destiny could be to put yourself on a cross, eh? All you have to do is go back to Damas get all nice, up and close with him and have his kid!"

He was pressing his face against hers now glaring into her eyes where she stared back coolly with her eyebrow raised.

"And I thought all the days of sexism was over." She replied dryly.

"Onin says that you have not being so cooperative with the precursors. You keep wanting to change the future and in a sense you are rejecting the gift that they gave you." He chided.

"Wouldn't you be a little bit ticked off?" She replied.

"No I wouldn't actually." Aella rolled her eyes. "I would thank the precursors everyday for my gift which they gave me. So try to be a little more grateful! Hm?"

Aella looked away and was wishing she wasn't having to have this discussion right now. Having discussions about her personal life/feelings with complete strangers was pretty much on the top of her 'never-to-do' lists. Especially with the precursors-knows-how-old woman and a parrot-monkey creatures. It was definitely a situation she didn't want to end up finding herself in. She knew what this was about. It was a conversation she was avoiding having with herself for many weeks. It was something everyone knew was underlying in every decision she made and everything that she said or crossed her mind. She knew deep down this was karma kicking her in the ass. She had been putting off confronting her feelings for so long they had been making her more frustrated and had been blinding her from what she really was supposed to be doing opposed to what she felt she was supposed to do.

Most people would think they were the same thing but she knew they were completely different concepts. She didn't ever have to want to face the fact that she still loved Damas. She hated him for turning his back on the city but she couldn't deny the fact that she still cared and thought about him nearly all the time. More than she was willing to admit. She wanted to say that she was doing for the city but she was really doing it for him. To make him proud. To prove him wrong. It was pride as well as for the need of approval. Two of her greatest issues when it came to Damas. She was staying here because when he first proposed to her alarm bells rang off. Something inside her told her that something wasn't right. That what he said just didn't agree with her principles and that she should turn away and never look back. The truth is she never truly turned away from him as her thoughts were always cast in his direction. Still, she didn't want to hear any of it. She didn't want to be a Queen. She wanted to be a warrior however from what she had heard Spargus had become the new warrior nation. Like Damas said to her, it was where she was supposed to be. She could see what he was trying to say to her now but she was just scared of being seen as a coward. She owed it to herself to never back down from something until she knew that everything was going to be okay once she left it.

If she thought about being a warrior was all she had to live for. She had been warrior of some sorts when growing up. She had to fight for survival when she was growing up. Then came the time when she worked for Krew. Then she joined the Krimson Guard. Then she became Captain Auroalis. She was born and bred to be a warrior. Then again the precursors had a different destiny in mind for her. Maybe she could be one of the those warrior-mystics people? She knew she had heard of some people who actually had that as an occupation. She shook her head stopped herself. What was she saying? It was madness. She wasn't behaving like herself and needed a mental slap around the head. She couldn't just up and disappear. She had responsibility to everyone. The city. She would be turning her back on the things she told Damas. She would look worse than he was. Then she thought on the other hand that if all sides were telling her no that maybe it was about time she stopped listening to the sound of her own voice and perhaps listen to the other suggestions people had to offer. Besides that reasoning also sounded like the reason why he turned his back on the city. Pride. She didn't want her pride being broken which was what was going to happen if she returned to Damas. Not good.

"I still don't think-"

"Are you going to argue with her?" Pecker asked.

Aella gave Onin one look and sighed. "What was it that I have to do again?"


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Jak and Daxter and I do not own the song Testify by Amy Studt

**A/N: **Sorry for the long update. University and other commitments to other stories have kept me busy and I want to be fair in terms of distributions to other stories. But anyway, here you go.

Chapter Four

For **Mental Verin**

_I know how I feel,_

_But I'm afraid to show it,_

_Inside it's so real,_

_But no one else would know it,_

_The whole truth and no lies,_

_Cutting deeper, I can hear my soul cry,_

_Come on testify, Come on testify_

_I've been lying to myself for too long,_

_Silence... was my only comfort_

_-Testify, Amy Studt_

~ (***) ~

As she got herself geared up, Ashelin only hoped that Torn knew was he was getting himself in for today. She had overheard the conversation her father had with Errol and she knew even before they got to the most vital part of the conversation that it wasn't going to be anything good. It never was when it came to her father. When something like this happened he was never one to show mercy. It simply wasn't his style. Although Torn really should've known what he was getting himself in for when he signed up in the first place. She liked Torn. He was a good fighter but the problem was he was still naïve to the true nature of the Baron. Even the soldiers who enjoyed tormenting the citizens were aware of the Baron's nature. They used it was a justification for their actions.

Now, no one joined the Krimson guard idly. A couple of years ago she may have let someone of the new recruits off for the fact that no one really knew about the true tyranny of her father. He hadn't really played it up until now. He was gradually beginning to show his true colours to the people and instead of rebelling against him, unlike the underground, they shrank back in fear and simply obeyed his every command. Whether it was to pay a new raise in tax or to betray their own neighbour, friend or even relative. She was even disgusted that she had his blood running through her veins. She could only hope that one day she could change that around.

Unfortunately she still carried on following his orders. She sometimes couldn't bare to look at herself in the mirror. She knew in her heart she hated her father and the abuses he made in his rise to power but she still continued to play the diligent daughter and never to speak out or expose his crimes. She never attempted to defy him in anyway, whether direct or indirectly. She supposed she still had that fear inside her which she shared with the most of the city. She still saw him as the big bad wolf who would come to shout or beat at her if she had done anything naughty. She knew that if she did anything worse than her childhood rebellions her punishment would be a lot severe. So she was mainly doing it out of common sense rather than anything else. Or that was she she told herself so that she could at least get a little bit of sleep at night.

She sighed and walked out her room and glanced around the lavish, extravagant room once last time and grimaced. She could at least have been given a more simply designed room if she was going to be imprisoned in the palace. She didn't realise why she couldn't live in the same sort of living quarters as others in the Krimson Guard. Just because she was the Baron's daughter didn't mean she deserved special treatment. If she wasn't part of the Krimson Guard it would be another matter but unlike the previous princesses or queens of Haven City, none had ever enrolled in the Krimson Guard. She decided to go talk to her mother before she went, she was never particularly close with any of her parents but she always found it a little bit comforting talking to her mother when she was about to do something she knew she would regret months afterwards until it would simply become part of the list of misdeeds and would be too much energy dwelling on any further.

She took in a deep breath and knocked on the door. "Mother."

She only heard a weak, frail voice beckoning her to enter and opened the door as gently as she closed it behind her. The room was shrouded in darkness and she saw her mother very obscurely staring outside the window as she sat in a chair in the corner as if she was a widow in mourning.

"Mother."

Her mother still stared out the window longingly and answered. "Yes, dear?"

Ashelin looked down at the ground uncomfortably and shifted from side to side. "I was...just going to come in and see how you were. Before I left for today."

"Alright." She shifted slightly in her chair and her eyes were now cast downward. "I'm very well thank you, dear. It was nice of you to come and see me. Even though you are so busy and should really be resting from your duties you still come to see me."

Ashelin shrugged her shoulders. "You're so lonely here."

_And so sad, _she thought to herself but didn't dare say it out loud.

~ (***) ~

Antiope ran as fast as she could. She was never much of a runner. Why did she have to be the first one to witness it? Why couldn't have she have accidentally slept in and perhaps have someone else running to the base to tell Aella what was happening? She felt like she couldn't run any faster but she knew she had to be faster. She had to get to the others in time to tell them what was going on. Someone needed to tell Aella what was going on before it was too late. She couldn't believe it was all happening again. This would be the third purge in the Baron's four-year reign that would've been carried out. No other ruler of Haven city had brought about a third purge within that span of time let alone so early in their reign. She knew from what Aella had told her about the previous king that he was a warrior but in the time he had ruled Antiope couldn't recall any purges even under his rule.

She finally arrived to the alleyway and typed in the secret code to gain access. She waited for a moment to process and accept it as she jumped up and down impatiently and literally flew through the doorway as soon as it opened and almost tripped over the shutters since it hadn't fully opened yet. That door was too slow. They really needed to get a technician on the team. She glanced around to see if there was anyone in but found it was all deserted. Not even Aella was here. She couldn't believe it. She had ran all the way here to tell them that a possible purge was about to start and no one was here to formulate a plan with them. Great.

She sighed and slumped down in a chair. She glanced at the maps and plans which she could only imagine was going to be the fun and games which would keep her occupied for the next few weeks. She pushed them away knowing she didn't really want to know or to be thinking about the missions which were going to be endangering her life at the moment. She glanced at the door again hoping that Aella would appear there in a few seconds but seconds soon turned into minutes and gave up the hope of willing Aella to the door. She hoped that Aella had just popped out for something and would be back in a few moments but then a few seconds later frowned at the idea. Aella wouldn't simply 'pop out' for something considering she was a fugitive and if she was found in the city would be executed upon the basis of treason. It she was ever to leave the base it would be to go on a mission but even that was risky. She was mainly the planner of all the missions and unless it was vital for her to come along she did. However she could see the reasoning of Nik, who tried most of the time to get her to stay behind.

"Annie?"

She jumped to her feet and saw Nik standing behind her. She glanced around wondering whether there was a secret doorway into this place. She wouldn't be surprised if there was.

"You're here early." He greeted cheerfully, slapping her on the shoulder.

"Nik there are purges going on in the slums."

Nik's smile faded and his eyes widened. "What? Are you sure?"

She nodded. "It's the same as before. The Krimson Guard was flooding in as we speak. They were ordering people out of their house. Even children and raiding their homes. Then they were throwing people into cargo cruisers." She shook her head. "I know it, Nik. And I know it was about what we did last night. The Baron is sending us a message."

Nik eyed Antiope suspiciously. "You've never had any objections to Aella's methods, Antiope."

She looked away quickly and almost looked like her eyes were filling with tears. "No. But I may do if it leads to this."

"Any attack on the Baron will lead to this, Antiope. You know that. If you hit him he will hit us back harder only he doesn't _who _we are so they have to hit us somewhere else. In our consciences. Do you understand?"

"Yeah." She shrugged her shoulders. "It's not like he has family of mine to hurt anyway. He killed all of them."

Nik nodded gravely and walked around the other side of the table and looked over the plans. Antiope turned away and waited patiently for Aella to return. She glared up at the door, wondering where she was at a time like this. There was something else that she left out of the conversation, something which she knew she could never say to Nik since she would be accusing his sister. She knew that all these destructive attacks against the Baron were stemming out of Aella's personal hatred. She didn't blame her for feeling this way. She could understand how she was feeling. She had lost everyone she loved because of the Baron but Aella was trying to pretend that she was doing this for the city. However Antiope knew the real reason why she was doing all of this...

~ (***) ~

Torn knocked on another door with his heart beating his chest. "Krimson Guard! Open up!" His partner barked.

Torn eyed him as he did so but decided to not say anything. He had seen him all afternoon throwing household furniture for side to side searching for evidence of being part of the Underground movement. Once they had arrived at the fourth house and found nothing, Torn could tell he was getting annoyed. He eventually looked at the family and grabbed the father and dragged him into the cargo cruisers and threw him in. Torn had demanded what he was doing, they found nothing to accuse him with. His partner merely smirked and shook his head. 'You'll learn, kid.' He believed was what he said. They had arrived at the fifteen house for the day, still no evidence but with six men, three women and at least four whole families on the cargo cruiser and Torn knew where they were headed. The grinder factory.

They had done nothing wrong. Torn knew that. He had searched the houses pretty well. He had his partner waiting for him outside the doorway sighing impatiently for him to be finished. He was just out to kill today. He was probably disappointed that he couldn't make any public displays of violence to act as an example to the rest of the Slums. Although Torn could possibly imagine that wouldn't the reason his partner would want to shoot someone between the eyes. Torn never joined up for this. Or at least this wasn't what he believed he was signing up for. His father had been in the Krimson Guard and would always wait for him to tell him stories from his day at work. Unfortunately he had died in a raid of the criminal hide-outs when Torn was seventeen. It was during his studies and decided to graduate and then train. He had spent about a year under Damas' reign and was shocked as everyone about what happened.

However he could sense there was something more than what the city and everyone else was being told about the matter. Everyone knew who the leader of the Underground was. Everyone knew Aella Auroalis had stayed. He knew Ashelin had met her once and risked asking her what she was like. For the first time Torn actually saw Ashelin smile. She told him that she was the reason she joined the Krimson Guard. At first he thought it was because of her actions and wanted to take out people like Aella Auroalis. However the next few words shocked him a little. She had told Ashelin that she had what it took to be a Krimson Guard. All she did was talk to her and they knew one another perfectly. The way that Ashelin talked about her was like someone talking about their hero. This was something else which got Torn thinking. Ashelin was likely to know about something about all of this and she was always hinting at not being so approving of her father's actions. Perhaps there was something she wasn't telling him...

An elderly man opened the door and before he even spoke his partner threw him out the door. Torn caught him before he could fall to the floor.

"You alright, sir?"

The old man who was a little shaken nodded and Torn helped him to his feet before he began to walk towards the door before another voice halted him.

"Torn."

He turned around to see Ashelin standing there in her usual stance and the usual smirk on her face. He pulled off his helmet and walked towards her.

"Ashelin." He breathed with relief. "How are you doing?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "You can imagine."

He glanced around and shook his head. "No really. You were never an easy woman to read, Ash."

She chuckled. "Good. How are you doing?"

His smiled faded. "I...I can't believe the Baron is doing this again. This time they're pulling out people who aren't even guilty and guards are getting away with it."

She nodded and began to walk away. "Well it was like I said Torn. You know what my father is capable of."

~ (***) ~

Cortensa Praxis looked out over the city and watched as it slowly collapsed into chaos. She closed her eyes dismissively knowing it would soon return to its usual routine tomorrow. In the evening everything would grow quiet as everything was being cleared up. As if nothing had ever happened. As if the city wasn't being oppressed by such a heinous dictator such as her husband. Sometimes she was sick with it. She felt as the wife of the ruler she would be the one going out to perhaps give food from the palace kitchens or washing the feet of the destitute but no. She was allowed to do such things. The Baron would stick his nose up at it and would say that they didn't deserve such charity. That it wasn't her duty to carry out such responsibilities. She could image that another justification for her not to do so would be to bring things back to the old days. They were entering into a new world as her husband called it. Whatever it was she hoped she would depart from this world soon enough to not have to find out what that world would be like.

She sometimes drifted off into her own dream world. Some people thought she was mad. She could hear the servants whispering from time to time about her. Saying that she was beginning to loose her mental stability. That soon she was going to either be locked away and never be seen again or even her weak state may make her susceptible to some virus and she may wither away and die. She smiled grimly to herself. They would all like that. They would all like her to wither away and die. Her husband most of all. She knew he couldn't stand her. He would want a silent, submissive wife. A wife who didn't shout at him for the cruel acts he had committed against his own people. A wife who would give him sons. Instead she gave him a daughter. But a strong daughter. A daughter she knew would one day stand up to her father. One day.

She was once as strong-willed like her daughter and to some extent still was. She just wasn't as she strong as she once was. If the times when she was young were like they were for her daughter she may have even entered in a profession like her daughters. Although at the time she was expected to marry well and give children. She couldn't understand why she married Praxis. Her father had arranged the marriage naturally. But why didn't she fight it? Why didn't she defy her father? She knew even then that he was a devil. That he was going to be the very person who would kill her very soul. All freedom that women had in those days was very limited then came along Aella Auroalis. The woman who defied all conventions and continued to defy to this day.

She remembered when they met her, very briefly. She was a strong, firm woman. She was also someone who didn't care for politics even if she had to play the game every now and then in order to survive. You always did. You always had to play the game. She could tell that much from meeting her. Many people would ask her what Aella was like even before it was announced that she was an enemy of the city. She was always a woman shrouded in mystery. She could see that. There was a sense of constrain in her features and posture but then again that was because she didn't want to give anything away. Perhaps that was why she survived for so long. She knew that Aella knew of her husbands plans. That very moment she knew that she was planning as much as her husband was. Aella Auroalis was never a stupid woman. She was very polite and courteous to her husband in their single conversation with her but she could tell there was something else running through her mind as they were speaking with her.

She turned to the door abruptly as she thought she heard a noise. She still remained in her chair but found there was nothing after a few moments of waiting for someone to emerge. She was almost laughing at herself now. She was beginning to hear things. Perhaps she really was going mad. She wouldn't be surprised, she locked herself away in this room for days on end. She couldn't go out there because there was no point. The only reasons the Baron would want her to come out into the world she deemed as pointless and vice versa. So she remained there. Just as a little rebellion. The worst thing that could be said about a king with concerns to his wife would be to have one that never came out or gave him sons...


	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Jak and Daxter and I do not own the song Testify by Amy Studt

Chapter Five

For **abi the weird**

_To the friends that I've lost on the way,_

_To the friends I've been pushing away,_

_You could say that I've made it,_

_But I'm Jaded_

_And inside I'm falling_

_I've been fighting,_

_Myself for too long,_

_And I've been hating,_

_Myself for too long._

_Testify, Amy Studt_

~ (***) ~

_I kept on going. I kept on convincing myself that everything was fine and because that was the only way I could hold it together. I needed stability when I wasn't the least bit stable, both in my behaviour and in my head. My visions were growing more intense. I couldn't get them out of my head. They were becoming more confusing and in turn I didn't know what I wanted anymore let alone having any idea what I needed to do. I tried to convince myself that it was enough that you were prophesied to enter into this world. I was growing lazy. I knew deep down I needed to make sure that happened and I ran away from every chance of it ever happening. I tried to put on a brave face on and convince everyone else that we were winning when the world was falling down around us. Although I knew deep down that that it was far from it. It was far from it. And it was all because I kept on running away from it. I thought that I would be able to make a better future but trying to make a black void light. Although I was always dwelling in the shadows of my past mistakes. I was that foolish, darling. I was that naïve. I was even fooling myself._

_I was never one to admit that I had made a mistake. I thought with my abilities to see the future that I would never have to arrive at the point where I would ever be wrong. I'm stubborn like that (and I hope you never pick up this trait either, darling). I was simply holding onto my pride and my anger towards the fact that Damas refused to return to the city and fight for it. I was too proud to return and face him after I had told him I loved him then turn away knowing he would do the same if I would ever return. I didn't want to admit that I was being hypocritical in not returning to your father (as you might well known conceiving a child does require two people) but I was too proud. I thought perhaps I might be able to do the job for you. I was wrong._

_As a result of my foolishness I started to become short-sighted in my efforts. I thirsted for blood of the Krimson Guard and most of all for Baron Praxis' to be spilt upon the ground. I wanted his head on a plate. I even began to try and will precognitive dreams of his dead eyes staring back at mine. I wanted to kill the vision of his death to my head so that I could have something to look forward to. Something to fight for. You eventually didn't become enough. I became selfish. That was the root of why I ran away from my destiny. Selfishness. I wanted to have the glory. I wanted to be the reason or the person that saved the world. I was becoming mad with my own anger and thirst for revenge. If the Underground hit the palace hard they would fight back harder and not towards us but towards the people. There would be purges which we would inevitably be unable to stop. But in all this rage I had towards Praxis and Damas there was someone else, which I wouldn't admit to, who I hated more..._

~ (***) ~

Aella urged her hoverboard up the slope as she felt herself almost drift away slightly from the

accelerator. She had been travelling up the mountain for so long she had become bored and her mind was drifting to other places from the task at hand. No way was she going to walk up it, when she stood in front of the mountain she had to crane her neck back to see the very top of it, which was where she needed to be. She glanced up to see how close she was. She was nearing the top now. There lay something like a shrine almost as if balancing on the top and almost looked like it might topple over if the wind was any stronger. The further up she went the wilder the air became. She sighed and continued on knowing she had been in harsher environments. Onin had told her that she would need to visit a priestess of the old religion. Her name was Metrodona. What she meant by this Aella could only guess had something to with worshipping the Precursors. She guessed they were these people who remained in drab clothing and prayed all day. If she was suggesting that Aella would have to join a monastery she had another thing coming.

She was never destined nor suited to becoming a monk so if that was what the Precursors had in store for her she wanted a refund. It also went against the prophecy of her baring the child of the future. If she was intentionally to join one then leave one by breaking the rules which would be a waste of time but then again these sort of things never went smoothly. Speaking from experience. She glanced up again and smiled now knowing she was going to be there within a few minutes. She flipped off her hoverboard decided to walk the rest of the way and just out of respect. Even if she didn't want to join them she was at least going to show them the respect they deserved. She wasn't willing to dedicate her life and purity to a belief but other people were more than willing to. Therefore it was something more than she could ever achieve. She was about the turn around the corner which would bring her to the entrance until she found an arrow being pointed in her face. She stepped back a little and swung out a sniper and aimed it at the cloaked figure in front of her.

"I would put that down if I were you." She warned.

"Put your weapon away, stranger." The hooded figure sneered. "Your metal is nothing against the power of my faith."

"That's something I hear a lot from people who are rather delusional or insane." She muttered.

"Do not sneer at the power of the Precursors!" She snapped.

"Look I am trying to be reasonable with you." Aella replied calmly. "Just put the arrow down and I will lay down my arms. I mean you no harm I came here in peace. You threatened me first therefore you are the one who really should be apologising."

"You come here in peace but you bring weapons." She slurred.

"Yes well we are not only outside the city walls therefore in a metal head infested area but we are also at war with them so really this is a choice made out of sensibility."

"The metal heads never come here. The Precursors protect us from their venomous reaches."

Aella rolled her eyes. "No you're just so high up this mountain that they can't be bothered to climb up it. Probably."

"Yumi what is the problem?"

Both Aella and the hooded figure looked up the path to see an elderly woman walking towards them with the vaguest look of concern in her eyes. Her eyes were the brightest blue Aella had ever seen. They were kind, considerate and calm, which probably also reflected her personality as well. She was tall and slender, her body was still rather young even if the wrinkles on her face said otherwise but even then she wasn't that badly off in those respects either. She had long, starry white hair which was braided into a plait which trailed down her shoulder. She was wearing a white, flowing dress which hung off her shoulders loosely. Aella wasn't sure now whether was old or young.

"Metrodona." 'Yumi' breathed. She turned back to Aella abruptly and pointed her finger at her. "This woman was trespassing."

Aella turned to her quickly. "Metrodona?"

Metrodona turned her calmly and nodded. "Yes? Did you come to speak with me? You have come far if that is the case. I can tell even by your clothing you have come far."

"Yes. I was told to come here. By Onin."

Metrodona's eyes widened. "Onin. I have not heard that name in a while. I suppose it would be important if she would send you to me. Please, come in."

Yumi stepped forward. "Met-"

Metrodona held up her hand. "It's alright, Yumi. This stranger will not harm us. Although I must ask you to surrender your weapon. This is a place of peace and I would prefer if you would not bring instruments of such violence into our sanctuary."

Aella nodded and handed it to Yumi although thinking, _Yet you have someone guarding the entrance armed with a bow and arrow?_

She watched Yumi before she disappeared into the confines of the Temple. She saw how she cradled the weapon in her hand knowing that she was never going to see it again. She wouldn't be surprised if she threw it over the mountain edge or try to use her own weapon on her if she had the chance. She turned back to Metrodona's back and decided to not worry about it anymore. There was always more guns. That was the problem with this world...She followed Metrodona into the shrine looking over her shoulder one last time at Yumi who gazed at her suspiciously but then turned away. In her own strange way she didn't blame her. She would be suspicious of a complete stranger if they waltzed into the base. If she thought about it, she would probably get along with Yumi if it was under different circumstances. She followed her through the marble corridors which seemed relatively empty however could hear the hum of prayers drifting through the halls but from where she didn't know.

"Where are you taking me?"

"Somewhere where we can talk. I have waited for news of Onin."

Then eventually stopped a seat which overlooked the forests far beneath the mountain which went on for miles and miles deep into a valley. Aella had never seen anything so beautiful.

"Tell me your name, Stranger."

"Aella."

"Aella. That is a very beautiful and interesting name."

Aella tilted her head. "How so?"

"It is the name of three very prominent figures in our history. The first priestess of our religion. It was also the name of the first warrior-priestess and also the name of one to come."

Aella smirked slightly. "And what is the role of the one to come?"

"To be the mother of the future."

She chuckled. "Now there's a line I've heard before."

"So that's why she sent you."

Aella looked back at her coolly. "I suppose so."

"Tell me. Is there any reason for her to send you here other than your name?"

Aella laughed. "Well I would need more a reason to be thought of this prophesied figure of course.

I can see the future."

"So you have been gifted by the Precursors as well. Then there is no denying it."

Aella shook her head. "There needs to be more of a reason than that. Its just a name. There could be another Aella in twenty years time with the same power as me who could be the one you're really looking for."

"No. No one is gifted with your powers so commonly. You have more than the gift of foresight, Aella."

Aella narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"You will find out soon enough."

"No I want to know now." She replied firmly.

"Please remember this is a sanctuary of peace."

"Well while this a place of serenity and calm there are places outside, far which are burning with violence and war while all of you up here sit around and pray to your Gods who do nothing." She snapped.

"You speak passionately, young one. When you think we have none but we do. We fight the evil in this world in a different manner to you because we have a different role to play. You play yours, we will play ours."

Aella shook her head. She had enough of this mumbo-jumbo when they drilled it into their heads while she was still at school. It was one the things she knew she would never miss as she soon as she stepped out of the school premises one last time knowing that she would never have to go back. She could remember this teacher who would go on and on about all of this and wouldn't shut up about them. Aella would sit there wondering what was so wonderful about it all. She would be given certain looks by this teacher telling her that she should be paying attention. Not for the reason that everyone should be paying attention in a lesson by _she _should pay _particular _attention in her lesson. It was because of her mother, of course. Being the child of a single mother always had its upsides. Now she was paying back to her thoughts. She could just imagine the Precursors chiding her now, _You should've been paying attention in those Religious Studies lessons, Aella. _She wouldn't put it past them to be like that. She shook her head not wanting to give them another excuse to throw something unexpectedly upon her.

"So why am I here then?"

Metrodona laughed. "How should I know?"

"Well...It took me half a day to get here. Onin told me nothing about the purpose of me coming here so...I would like at least..."

"There is some unrest in you, Aella. Something unresolved. Perhaps that is why Onin sent you here. She can sense such things."

Aella blinked. "Look. I know what I have to do. I pretty much go into an epileptic fit every time I'm shown what it is I'm supposed to do. I doubt that's the issue."

"Really? You may have knowledge of the future, Aella. But what of the past? Is there nothing in the past which may trouble you?"

Aella stared back at her unmovingly. "There are many things which I have done which I regret more than you can imagine in your pure, religious mind. Believe me."

"Then maybe that is why you are here then. Perhaps you were sent here to atone."

Aella laughed. "For a confession. Believe me I didn't need to go for miles to find a monk to hear my own confession."

"Perhaps it depends on the person who hears your confession, Aella. Perhaps there is someone here, deep from your dark past whom you have wronged and need to make amends."

Aella sighed. "Look, I have travelled for miles. I am in no mood for riddles. Just spit it out simply."

Metrodona gave her a surprised look. "I'm not going to patronise you Aella. You deserve more than that."

Aella sighed. "There's a lot of people."

"Think."

"Believe me I've counted the ghosts and there are too many-"

Aella stopped in mid-sentence because she suddenly noticed a young girl walking towards them. A young girl who happened to be the last person she expected to see here. Someone who she really did not want to see, now being the most inconvenient of times to appear. She was carrying some scrolls in her thin arms. She was around seventeen to twenty years old. She couldn't have been any older than Aella. However she was definitely younger than Aella. She had grown up so much since she last saw her and even though it had been years since she had last seen her she knew exactly who she was. She had her eyes cast down to the ground. There was no doubt about it. She knew exactly who she was. She just hoped that Aella had changed at least enough for her to not recognise her otherwise this situation was going to get even more awkward than it already was. She suddenly looked up and their eyes met. The girl recognised her and was so startled she dropped the scrolls. Metrodona glanced over her shoulder and smiled affectionately as she walked towards the girl to help her pick them up.

"Are you alright, Seem?"

The girl nodded and Aella could only simply stare in horror as she watched them. Seem...

"_Don't worry Seem everything will be alright."_

"_Grandmother went back inside. Grandfather...Selene also."_

_Burning building...Alone...Orphaned..._

Seem ran down the corridor and as Aella stared after her Metrodona exchanged a look between the two and gave Aella a knowing look.

"How long were you thinking of staying?"

"Um...Not long. I have to get back eventually."

She nodded. "Stay the night. You came far you must be tired."

Aella shook her head. "It's alright."

"I insist."

"I can't stay that long. They need me back in the city."

Metrodona gazed at her. "One night." She insisted.

Aella rolled her eyes. She knew she was going to regret this...

~ (***) ~

The shutters the entrance opened and for a moment Antiope thought it was Aella but it turned out to be Babak.

"Hey. Have you seen what's going on in the slums?"

Antiope nodded. Babak looked around for Aella but when she was nowhere in sight her frowned. He turned to Antiope with a question mark on his face.

"She's gone. We have no idea where she is...I just can't believe she's disappeared at such a time."

"Don't worry." Babak assured her placing his hands on her shoulders. "She'll be back. She would never let us done in a such a situation if she knew."

"That's the thing. What if she's been captured? I mean it was only a matter of time."

Babak grinned. "Relax. She's a hard woman to catch. She was once a Krimson Guard so she'll know how they think. It'll be alright."

She shook her head. "I don't know. I don't know how I can just stand around here and do nothing."

"Everything will be okay, Annie..."

"WELL IT ISN'T!" She screamed, tears where forming in her eyes but she was fighting hard to hold them back. "I can't take that line anymore. It's not enough to say everything will be alright when it isn't! I've seen what they do to innocent people. I can't take it anymore. Why do people say one thing when it's the other? Why can't people just not hurt others? Why Babak? WHY?"

Babak looked back at her calmly. "Because we're human. Human's aren't perfect but if we were what would be the point?"

She frowned. "In what?"

"In trying to be better? What would be the point if we were already perfect in trying to be perfect?"

She sighed tiredly. "I'm not asking them to perfect. I'm asking them to stop slaughtering people in the streets and not having pointless purges. In fact purges are pointless full stop!"

"Well I think you're asking for it without realising." He replied. "All you can do is just focus on changing the way you behave. Focusing on staying the same path you are remaining on rather than giving in and going with the crowd. The only person you can change and focus on is yourself. There's no point changing others because you can't. They can only realise their own faults."

"And if they don't?"

Babak shrugged his shoulders. "Then that's their problem. Not yours."


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Jak and Daxter and I do not own Superior Mind by Amy Studt

Chapter Six

For **Will of The Heart**

_If there's hate in this heart, then there's hate in that heart._

_One hand claps not without the other._

_From love springs love, but who can say,_

_If the love is not returned, it furthers by the day._

_From hate springs hate, so we have found._

_It's growing ever stronger._

_Every chance you'll take, and every heart you'll break._

_Superior Mind, Amy Studt_

~ (***) ~

Nik had been wondering about the streets for hours now. His legs almost felt like they were going to topple over which made him feel almost ashamed to be an ex-Krimson Guard. He felt like he had been walking for a thousand miles. He had hoped that by noon Aella would've returned but to his surprise she was nowhere in sight. So he decided to walk around and see if she was still around in the bazaar but he still couldn't find her. Also Annie was beginning to get uncharacteristically paranoid and thought it better to prevent her from entering into the stage of actual paranoia. He went down in the sewers, down the back-streets and still she was nowhere to be found. He was beginning to worry now. Then again he always worried about her, sometimes he felt like he was the older sibling but it was probably down to the fact that there must be some biological imperative for a brother, regardless of age to be worried about his sister. He was beginning to worry whether she had been captured but he had to shake this thought away before he would panic and do something stupid. Also Aella was never that careless. She would never have been able to survive this long if she was that careless. So he decided to go to Onin, knowing she was the only one who would know where she would be.

As he headed there he noticed there was something falling from the sky. He held out his hand to catch it and see what it was. At first he thought it was snow but he noticed it was a little grey and rubbed it in between his fingers. Instead of melting in his hand it smudged between his fingers and made his hand look like the street children's who spent their days running through the streets and playing in the mud. He brought it to his face as if he was applying warrior face paint. He had to be stronger than this now. He had to be as strong as his sister now that he had seen how far Baron Praxis was willing to go to smoke him out. They had to go further than him if they were to win this war. His eyes widened and looked up at the sky and his eyes wondered in the direction of where the wind was blowing from. He then saw a rising cloud of smoke from the other side of the city. He turned away knowing from today's events that he was now holding the last remnants of an innocent soul who had now been reduced to dust. He tucked his hands back his pockets and continued forward trying to cancel out the echoing cries of citizens singing throughout the streets. He closed his eyes hoping that Shayna was okay. He didn't think to go round their house and check that they hadn't been taken by the Krimson Guard. He knew he would have to stop by their house on their way back just to make sure.

He turned around the corner and sighed with relief that the tent was still there and that he had arrived. It was still in the same place. Although in the time they were living in, this was somewhat worrying and a bit stupid. Praxis was beginning to establish a law where practices such as the ones Onin carried out would be prohibited within the city and would even be prosecuted if they were found doing so. He didn't understand the logic behind it to be honest. From what his sister told him they wanted to use her for her powers. He suspected that those who were spared were the ones who were willing to work for him rather than being dedicated to the Precursors as they should be since that was technically where their allegiances did lie. No one could pull themselves away from their origins lied. No matter the call. Whether evil or good. Praxis or Damas. If Damas was still in power he would never ask such a thing of them. It all began when he came to power many of the monks left the city knowing that Praxis would try to wipe them out. They all knew how he came to power. They all knew Aella and Damas were innocent. But they were powerless at the time. If they returned perhaps the people would support them but Praxis' power had grown too strong over the past few years that it would be useless if they did anything. It wouldn't be enough for the people to rebel.

He strode into the tent under the impression that Aella may still be there but found that there was only Onin within the tent. He looked around wondering if she was lying on the floor somewhere as she usually was when she was in the middle of a vision. Or a coma. He would throw a fit if she was having one of those again. She was in that coma for weeks. The old woman looked up slowly and seemed to frown but her expression was so vague that Nik couldn't be sure. Even if she was blind she either had good hearing or she did have some mystical powers. He was pretty sure from the expression on her face that she knew who he was rather than knowing simply that there was another presence in the tent. Nik and Aella hadn't been raised religiously so they had no perception of the supposed power of the Precursors. Still he was beginning to get a sneaking feeling that they may be wrong about all that. He had only met Onin once but it was only when Shayna needed a potion from her. He eyed Pecker who was balancing on the bowl on top of her head and remembered his too flamboyant personality he didn't really care for. Pecker narrowed his eyes at him but Nik still continued to walk forward and was prepared for any other witty comment which would come out of his mouth.

"Ahhhh. I remember you." Pecker greeted in a calculating voice. "You were the one that woke me up from my siesta!"

Nik ignored him. "I've come to find my sister. Although it seems like she isn't here. So I'm presuming you know where she went?"

"You're that girl's brother, eh? You know she was incredibly rude. What is it with your family, eh? Were you just brought up with bad manners or something?"

"If you don't mind I'm trying to have a conversation with someone but considering that fact that I don't understand this ancient sign language perhaps you could do your job and translate?" He replied dryly.

Pecker narrowed his eyes at him and turned to Onin and waited for her to finish her sentence. "She sent your sister outside the city walls to a shrine deep in the mountain terrain. So I wouldn't be expecting her back for a while...Or at all."

"I'm guessing I won't expect her back for a while then." He muttered.

"You seem really sure...The metal heads are quite vicious I hear."

Nik smirked. "It would take more than a metal head to beat my sister."

"Hmmm. I suppose...I guess the Precursors will have to protect her if she's to fulfil her purpose."

Nik shook his head. "I'm sorry, but are you trying to 'subtly' hint something or try to get me curious about what you're getting at?"

"From what Onin was telling your sister I am under the impression she is to be the third Aella."

"You mean Aella the third?"

"No. The third Aella. The first to be gifted by the Precursors was the first to be ever gifted and therefore the first Priestess. In fact she was there at the very beginning. There was second who you could consider to be the first defender of the Precursors. A warrior-Priestess if you may. But the third has not come about. Well...Perhaps not until now..."

"Is there supposed to be some connection between them?"

"Apparently. They were all supposed to come at a time when our world needed a saviour the most. The first you could say established the 'defence system' she was said to be quite an intelligent woman actually. The second was simply an enforcer. But the third...well there was something a little bit vague about the third..."

"What do you mean?"

"Well...she was almost made out to be one who would bring the saviour rather than be the

saviour."

"Almost like she's the one to conceive the saviour." He murmured.

"Yes. Why? Is there something which she said about her visions which might have implied that?"

"Sometimes I've overhear her visions. She's always muttering to herself when she has them and she mentions someone called Jak. Perhaps she supposed to find him and warn him. Or..."

Pecker smirked. "Or perhaps this is the child she is supposed to have that will save the world, eh?"

"I don't understand why she wouldn't tell me something like this..."

"Well you know these gifted ones...They always want to go alone on these things. I wouldn't take it personally. Believe me I know." He said pointing down at Onin.

~ (***) ~

"I hope you'll be comfortable in here."

Aella looked around the guest room they had given her for the night. It was the most comfortable looking room she had seen in a while. Even a bed would be luxury to her. She insisted she didn't need one but had been told there was no room in the rest of the sleeping quarters anyway. It was a light pink room with marble pillars holding up the ceiling, so at first it almost looked like a palace room except for the fact there was no additional furnishings. There was a beautiful scenery outside. In fact there was no door all she had to do was keep on walking across the room and she would be out in the gardens again. Perhaps somewhere for her to pace if she was having a sleepless night. Something which she hadn't had in a while. In fact it was pretty simple which was something Aella always liked. There was no window so she could feel the warm, gentle mountain wind dancing through the room. The bed was simple and as she pressed her palm down on it she knew it wasn't going to be the most luxurious bed in the world but comfort wasn't exactly as issue with her. There was a desk in the corner of the room, a wardrobe and that was pretty much it. Then again she wasn't really going to need anything else.

She nodded. "Yes. Thank you."

The young girl bowed and looked as if she was about to leave but stepped forward. "I'll prepare a bath for you and also I'll wash your clothes."

Aella smiled and shook her head. "It really isn't necessary."

"Metrodona wants to have dinner with you tonight and also you're going to be attending our mass so I'm told and since you've been travelling far you may wish to refresh yourself before hand and change into something...different."

Aella smiled politely knowing she wasn't going to be getting out of this one. "Alright."

"I'll come back in a few minutes once you've changed out of your clothes." She turned around and glided out of the room closing the door behind her.

Aella gave out an exasperated sighed. "Dinner. Great. Mass. Wonderful." She muttered sarcastically.

She spun round and headed towards the wardrobe and found a dressing gown in there along with similar dresses to the one Metrodona wore and one which she imagined she would have to wear for this evening. She sighed knowing that she had no choice in this matter either. Despite the fact that she abided the idea of wearing clothes. She threw it onto the bed and began to peel off her clothes realising how sweaty she actually was. She felt like she was being peeling like when you were peeling of the inedible skin of some fruit. She was probably quite dirty as well. She didn't have a mirror in here so she didn't know how dirty but she could imagine she wasn't exactly fit to have dinner with a high Priestess or attend a sacred ceremony. She didn't exactly have the facilities for washing on daily basis in the hideout so the last time she had had a bath she could safely say she couldn't remember. She also couldn't be blamed for the condition she arrived in. You couldn't go on such a long journey without getting a little bit dirty. She had stripped till she was naked and self-consciously and quickly put the dressing gown on at the same time the girl walked back in to see if she was ready.

"Ah, you're ready."

Aella gave her a forced smile and waited for her to pick up her clothes before following her out the room. She was so quiet and diligent. She put them somewhere else other than the floor so she didn't seem like so much of a slob, she knew if she was in her position she would be hating her right now. Why didn't she just hand the clothes to her? She was behaving as if she was a Queen to be obeyed. She restrained herself from smacking herself on the head and followed her just as quietly as she was. They didn't walk far before entering into a small room with a steaming bath tub pressed against the wall. Aella glanced over her shoulder seeing that the girl was waiting for her to step into the tub. It was steaming and she thought she might burn herself but when she turned to her she nodded her to go in. She smiled at her and waited for her patiently to get in the tub. She sighed and slipped off the dressing gown and almost jumped into the tub. It was so warm and she instantly felt relaxed. Her muscles felt like they were being soothed from the strains she had put on them. Her limbs were almost dissolving into the water and her mind stirring into the midst of the herbs and salts which had been mixed with the water.

"I feel so...calm."

The girl nodded. "That will be the bath salts. It's made from milt and latenner. They're relaxants. Just be careful you don't fall asleep."

Aella chuckled. "What's your name?"

"Thais." She answered as she reached out for a cloth to wash her face and arms.

"That's pretty." She murmured. "Where are you from Thais?"

"I was from Linthiania. Near the jungle terrain. I lived in a village and I began to develop the powers of a healer. The village sage said I would be better off here."

"You left your family?"

She smiled sweetly. "My family is here."

"Yes, but...what about your _family_?"

Thais' eyes flickered. "They were happy for me. We were poor but happy. Although I was able to have a chance for a good life. A life of purpose."

Aella nodded. "I could've had that life but I decided to stay with my family."

Thais' smile fell a little. "You abandoned your destiny?"

"Not so much. I...I couldn't abandon my family to the tyranny of our ruler."

"You've come from Haven City. I've heard about your ruler. Are you perhaps the resistance which I have also heard of?"

She chuckled. "If I was would I tell you?"

"You can trust us here."

"I only do it because the man on the throne is not right to sit there. Also I fight because the man who should be has given up and refuses to do so."

"Perhaps he realises his place is elsewhere." Thais offered.

"His place is with his people." She insisted. "He has taken it upon himself to take the throne of his mother's family's legacy but he still shouldn't have abandoned his birthright and his father's legacy also."

"We all have the right to chose our own path as you have also done."

Aella scoffed. "You would say that I abandoned the path I was supposed to take."

Thais raised her eyebrow. "And where was that?"

"By his side. But I decided to return home and defend those he chose to abandon from the evil who oppress them. But I still abandoned not only the place where I am supposed to rightfully be but also the role Precursors willed me to carry out. So what do you say to that, Thais?"

Thais smiled again and replied, "I say...That perhaps your path will eventually stem back to that point again when it is the time for you to take that place."

~ (***) ~

Nik was walking back heading in the direction of Shayna's house wondering how long it would be until Aella would return. She looked up and saw that the sky was beginning to clear. The smoke was almost gone now but the stench of burning bodies still remained hovering in the air. It would soon pass but something else which would leave its mark on this day would never disappear. Perhaps if she was here she may have prevented it. Perhaps if he had told her not to worry about her vision this wouldn't have happened. He shook his head. There was no point regretting the past. There was no point for if, buts or maybes. The one thing he had at least learned from Aella was that there was no point trying to change the past because the only thing you could really had an affect on is the present and the future. It was funny, it almost felt like now he was taking her role. She was really the one waiting for Damas to return and he could kind of see now the other reasons as to why. At first he thought it was merely out of allegiance towards him. Now he could see there was more to her actions than met the eye.

Aella had always been someone who was forever tied to duty rather than to her own personal needs. She was never one to run after her heart but more her dreams. She was never grand enough for ambition, perhaps that was why she was never able to survive for long at court. The thing which confused him the most was why he didn't see this before. Just with the way that she talked about the King and how devoted she was to her job should have made it plain to him as it was now when he began to analyse it. His sister had become predictable over the years and he had seen her when she was in love with Barack so he was sure he would be able to tell when she was in love with one another. He just didn't know whether he knew his sister any more. When she was with Barack she was just...happy. The opposite of what she was before. Now she was obsessed. She was actually making herself ill by avoiding the thing she wanted the most. She wanted to imerse herself in her work and ignore everything else. When she was with Barack he could tell she was always thinking about him. When it concerned Damas she even jumped at the mention of his name. As different as it was he could see that it was true. It made sense. The reason for her staying. The reason as to why she was so distracted. The prophecy. It all made sense. But at the same time he simply couldn't understand it.

Perhaps it was because he felt that this wasn't the 'proper' way someone should behave when they were in love with someone. She had always been too sensible and sacrificial for love. She was more the sort of person who was supposed to have a destiny rather than a love life and a love life with a King involved no doubt. Then again, that itself sounded like something of a destiny. A commoner who becomes a Queen. Then again they never knew who her real father was. For all they knew he could have been a lord. Still, it was no excuse for her to behave the way she had been for the past few years. They shouldn't neglect them and want to be miles and miles away from them. Perhaps it was because with regards to the person he was in love with the way he was behaving and the way his sister was behaving was completely different. He was sure after having a conversation with Shayna would straighten everything out. If there was ever going to be one person who could at least rationalise Aella's behaviour it was Shayna. She was more of a mother to them than their biological mother ever was. Lynder Auroalis had zero understand of others. That was what made Shayna such a good mother. She was always capable of putting herself before others. Being able to put herself in other peoples shoes.

Nik knocked on the door to Shayna's house and at first there was no reply. He frowned and knocked again. This wasn't like Shayna. She was always the door a split second later when you knocked. Even when she was upstairs. Or even Duke. It was like a gift or something. Like they knew that you were going to be at the door as you were walking down the street. Maybe she was in the kitchen. A few minutes has passed and still there was no answer. He was beginning to shake and sweat all over. Something was wrong. He began to panic now and looked around self-consciously. He felt like he couldn't breathe. It couldn't happen. It could never happen not to them. Never to them. Not when Aella was gone. Not the moment she decided to leave the city. He just began to picture them in his head. Shayna. Tess. Oz. Duke. All he could see was their faces in the flames. For the first time in his life he didn't know what to do. He was always the one to consult on a mission when they were stuck in a difficult situation because he always had an answer. He ran his fingers through his hair and wondered what it is he should do. He shouldn't jump to conclusions. Perhaps they were okay. He thought about asking the neighbours if they saw anything but he knew it would be a bad idea. It would arouse too much suspicion and he was sure many people were suspicious of him anyway.

"Nik?" A weak, forlorn voice called.

He spun round and found two blonde haired children walking towards them. He didn't need to give a second thought to knowing who they were. He rushed towards them and gathered them both in his arms.

"Are you both okay?"

The thirteen year old boy nodded. "Yeah..."

Oz's eyes drifted back down to the ground and gripped onto Tess' hand tighter. Nik placed a hand on his younger brothers shoulder.

"Oz what is it? What happened?" He glanced at Tess' tear stained face who glanced up for a moment before bursting into tears. Nik took her in his arms and picked her up. He took Oz's hand and began walking back to HQ hoping that Tess' crying wouldn't draw too much attention onto themselves.

"I'm going to take you somewhere safe, okay? But you have to promise me you don't tell anyone about this place."

"No one?" Oz asked hesitantly.

"No one." He confirmed firmly.

Oz nodded obediently and remained silent for the rest of the way there. He didn't have to tell him what happened. They were too late to save them. Nik was all Oz and Tess had now...

~ (***) ~

Aella glided into the room with Thais by her side not feeling as self-conscious as she thought she would. She looked around and found herself in a church with a tall, over-arching ceiling which made her feel as tiny as a star in the night sky. She sighed and glanced over the crowds. There were people wearing the same white robes she had been given which were actually more comfortable than she imagined. She tugged at them slightly as she was walking down the corridor as she felt a little unsure about wearing them. She felt Thais' gentle hand rest on her shoulder and she nodded wordlessly towards the crowds and took her to an empty place on the floor for them to sit.

Aella shifted on the spot she glanced around with the dark, stone room buzzing with the murmurs of philosophical discussion. Instead of feeling suffocated she felt more safe. She felt enclosed in this sense of security as if someone was embracing her. She looked over her shoulder and saw that Thais was talking to someone she must know intimately due to the space between her and the other woman she was talking to and even by her body language. These were the sorts of things she had been taught in her training in the Krimson Guard and even in her qualifications before that. She turned away and for a moment she felt like an outsider again until she saw a familiar face.

Her eyes widened as did Valador's who was not but two feet away from her. He got to his feet hurriedly and moved closer to her.

"Aella Auroalis?"

She nodded. He took both her hands as if she were a long lost relative or daughter and smiled with relief.

"I'm so grateful that you are still alive. I feared the worst when Baron Praxis came to power."

She smiled. "You never have to worry about me, Valador. I am quite capable of taking care of myself."

"My dear, I have every reason to be concerned for your welfare." He assured her in a serious tone.

"I hope it isn't simply because of my 'gift'."

He shook his head. "Oh no. There's a lot more to it than that."

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

He was about to answer but then was silenced by the overwhelming voice which echoed throughout the church.

"Brothers, sisters. Welcome." Metrodona was standing on a platform of some sort looking over them as affectionately a mother watching over her children. "Let us begin with giving thanks once again for the Precursors who generously gave us not only a place within this world by bringing us into creation but the world in which we dwell in. Even if that world is in a time of conflict we must thank them for their protection and pray for resolution. We are dwelling in dark days but the light will soon return."

Aella realised at that moment Metrodona was staring intently into her eyes when she said this. She looked down and tried to avoid her eye contact so that no one would know that she was talking about her. She never liked being in the spot light and she never will. She especially didn't like it when there was someone around who hated her for it since they immediately presumed that she enjoyed the attention. She wasn't sure whether she was talking about her or whether she was saying this for her benefit but she looked down not only out of embarrassment but also uncertainty. She was sure that Yumi was going to give her a hard time about it later. She could not only feel Metrodona's eyes on her but also Valador's, who she was sure could also sense her discomfort. Why did people always do this to her? She could sense his comforting smile resting which she refused to look at resting on her back. There was also another girl standing on the platform next to Metrodona. She had olive brown skin with harshly sharp features. She had full, desirable lips and long, wavy dark hair. She was sure with the expression on her face that this must be the girl who threatened her at the entrance. Yumi.

"We must pray now, brothers and sisters, for thanks of the power invested in us. The gifts of the Precursors."

Aella looked up again and saw a monk swinging something filled with incense as he walked amongst the crowds. She was almost afraid that it was going to hit someone's head. The smoke trailed through the air and swam amongst the people as if it were some creature searching for someone. For a moment she had the nervous thought that it might be looking for her. Of course it was. It was always seeking her out, trying to make her life a living misery since it seemed to be prerogative at the moment. She felt like was under a telescope for the entire time of her being here. She may have been the observer, but she was also the outsider. Everyone else was watching her. She could smell the strong scent even if he was on the other side of the room. Her head was swimming with the smell filling her nostrils and intoxicating her mind. It was so calming but it also made her feel like she was loosing control. She didn't like not being in control it was one of the reasons why she didn't welcome her visions. For moment she thought that she may be experiencing another vision but she was sure that it was just the fumes. She turned back to Metrodona and tried to listen but found her words were being to blur. She looked around and her entire vision was also become distorted. She felt her heart pounding her chest. She knew most certainly now that a vision was coming and there was no stopping it...

_**The arena shows all, dark one. Hate consumes your eyes.**_

_Who is she?...She could seems so familiar...Her eyes were hateful. Judgemental._

_**It will destroy you... just as these Precursors destroyed themselves.**_

_What is she talking about?_

_**These artefacts are an abomination. One fell on the great volcano. We sent an expedition to the mountain, but my monks never returned. Ill tidings sing in the wind. I fear the remaking of the world is at hand.**_

_What is she talking about? What are these artefacts? Aella had never seen them before. They looked like they were created by the Dark Makers as she had heard from many people. Aella knew of the ill tidings but what remaking of the world was she talking about?_

_**You must leave this place! Heroes think they can save the world, when they themselves are lost. You could not possibly understand the dark forces at work here.**_

_Aella only watched this scene knowing all too well of what she meant. She had heard these words being repeated to her over and over in her head. Read out by her own conscience telling her to turn away from the path which she was leading. She thought she could be a hero once but she knew now you had to sacrifice your morals in some situations in order to take another step forward towards victory for the good of others. Sometimes you had to be the villain in some ways. Sometimes it was better to go down in history being known for doing something heroic rather than being a hero. Many people would wish to dispute that but it had worked out for Aella so far. Or as much as she could say that it had 'worked out'. There were still some things she had to think over before she returned to Haven City. She had to make some changes about how she was doing this as well as some changes about herself. She could also see how she was beginning to lose sight of who she once was. Once she was so sure of who she was. Now she couldn't even recognise herself in a mirror. She was beginning to wonder whether she would be truly able to save everyone. Whether this was really her destiny or whether she was running from it._

_**Those are solid eco crystals. It has been passed down through time that they power the greatest of Precursor technologies. Strange... It speaks an ancient dialect. The earliest Precursor forms. Something about re-claiming this unfinished world...**_

_What is she talking about...? Who..._

_**I am Seem. We monks are sworn to discover and protect the secrets of the Precursors.**_

_Seem..._

_**You will never last out here.**_

_Seem..._

_**The Day Star approaches, and every day it grows brighter! This planet's final trial is coming!**_

_What are you doing here...? Why are you here in this future of mine? Or even in a future that is not mine but my sons? What business do you have in his place? What are you talking about? I am so sorry...Don't punish him..._

_**You have a reputation for being rash. Didn't your father ever tell you to pick your battles wisely?**_

_Damas..._

_**I never knew my father.**_

_Jak..._

_**My point is, sometimes you face your enemy head on, and sometimes... you wait until his weakness is revealed. Patience is a warrior's greatest weapon. Do you understand?**_

_I'm so sorry..._

~ (***) ~

Valador was hurrying out the temple after it all happened. Everyone else was busy trying to Aella to another place to rest. When he ran down the hill into the forest under the shadows something, someone was waiting for him and grabbed him before he realised what was going on.

"Please don't-"

"Shh." The figure brought a finger to his lips. He threw off his hood revealing who he was.

"Amos?"

He couldn't believe his eyes. Was it really him? He blinked and rubbed his eyes making him laugh and then knew he was real and not some figment of his imagination.

He smirked. "How are you old friend?"

"Very well. Why don't you come up to the-"

Amos shook his head. "No. No, Metrodona won't want me up there..."

Valador cocked his head to the side. "True..."

His relationship with Metrodona was infamous. The last they spoke was when he brought her here and introduced her to the head monk who died a few years ago and took his place. She was always meant for higher things after all.

"I heard m- I heard Aella was there..."

Valador nodded slowly. "Yes. She is having another vision..."

Amos glanced up silently and then back at Valador. "I see. I hope she is in good hands."

Valador tilted his head. "Of course." There was another pause. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

He didn't know who his child was and he wanted to keep it that way. The fewer people knew the better. Not even Metrodona was aware to his knowing. Only Onin and Samos so far but they always knew...

Amos shook his head. "No. I am on her kind after all. Where are you heading?"

"Spargus. I am..."

"Telling Damas of her presence here...Word travels far and wide...and fast." He explained.


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Jak and Daxter and I do not own 'Superior Mind' by Amy Studt.

Chapter Seven

For **Flouder5**

_You know that everyday I'm more disappointed,_

_By the world and I'm losing my faith._

_You make the hell we have to live another universal truth._

_You keep on asking the same kind of questions,_

_You keep on fighting the same type of wars._

_Cos you will find what you need inside to be a superior mind._

_Superior Mind, Amy Studt_

~ (***) ~

Aella blinked when she finally woke up again but this time she was in a bed rather than on the cold, stone floor of the temple. It wasn't exactly comfortable but it was definitely more comfortable than the floor. She glanced around waiting for someone to pop out of nowhere into her eye line but it seemed like they had just left her there. Strange. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate the one time of having no one asking her a million questions while still being a little shakey after the episode but most religious wackos were so fascinated by her abilities that they even watched her while she slept after a vision. As if every single movement she had contributes to some criteria of her being the perfect oracle. Save the high level of obedience to worshipping some deity but that was because she couldn't be bothered and there were more important things to do in this world.

She sat up and stretched out making sure there were no aches or breaks as Duke liked to call it. She smiled thinking that the first thing she would do when she went back was to see them again. She couldn't remember the last time she had a shower, slept in one of their beds or even had one of Shayna's famous breakfasts. She missed those happy mornings. Even if it was going to be for a few moments. She had to see her family again. It had been too long. The one thing she realised lately was that she had been so side-tracked by her job that she had no time for herself to see the people that she loved. The image of Damas appeared in her head again and shook it away. That was different. Completely different. The love you had for your family was different to someone you had mixed but definite feelings about.

She walked towards the window with the early morning sun peeping over the horizon. She thought that if she slipped out no one would notice her. It sounded a little bit spiteful and that she was slipping out like some unwanted and ungrateful but she had wasted too much time. She walked towards the wardrobe hoping that her clothes had been done but there was nothing but the same robes that everyone wore here. She looked down at herself still wearing the same thing she was wearing in the temple and sighed. She couldn't go around trekking in the wilderness with metal heads crawling around in something like that. She gave the wardrobe a second look and still found nothing as before. She huffed with frustration and slapped the door shut. Perhaps there was a laundry room somewhere where she could find her clothes. At this point she didn't care whether they were dirty or not. She had to go home now.

She marched out the room and down the corridor. She glanced around to see if anyone was around. She checked around corners to see if anyone was heading in the same direction she was coming from. So far she had been successful to a certain point until she reached the laundry room to find it wasn't unoccupied.

"Oh."

Aella's eyes widened and stepped back when she saw who it was. "Oh sorry. I'll be back later."

"No please. I am finished now." The younger girl replied politely. "You are...It is you isn't it?" Aella nodded wordlessly. For some reason the girl smiled with relief. "It's good to see you again."

Aella chuckled. "Really?"

The girl tilted her head. "Why do you sound so cynical?"

"Why aren't you being cynical?"

The girl shrugged her shoulders. "I have no reason to be cynical. Do you?"

Aella craned her head back and sighed. She had this coming. She knew she had this coming as soon as she saw her. Then again no one ever went their whole lives without being punished for their misdeeds. She had gone on for quite a while now without paying for what she had done all those years ago.

She looked at her with a sad look in her eyes but also looked like she was trying to implore to take another approach to this situation.

"Seem...I killed your family. I would say that would be a good reason to be cynical towards me, not the other way around."

~ (***) ~

Annie had seen Nik down but not like this. He was always so brave. So tough. He never got openly emotional about things. He may have let his emotions get in the way of his work ethic on some occasions but Annie had never witnessed him being openly distraught. To her it just simply wasn't natural. It wasn't right. None of this was right. None of this should've happened. As soon as she saw him walking through the door with Tess and his younger brother she knew what had happened. She could tell from the helpless look on their faces and with Nik's eyes cast downwards as if he had walked away from witnessing an execution. She knew that deep down he felt like he had failed them. She knew that he didn't. Far from it actually. She knew that the worst to be expected had happened and there was nothing they could do to change that. She had only met the kids once the night she met Aella, she gave her a room for the night at her Mom's house. Or Shayna as she called her.

She remembered that night well. After a a while of feeling so alone and hating everything and everyone she felt warm, safe and hopeful. Something she hadn't felt in a long time. Shayna could have that effect on people. She later found out that Shayna wasn't their biological mother but their younger brother Oz, knew no other mother and it didn't really matter either considering from what she had heard of their biological mother. She hated to admit to this but she had almost become another mother to her as well. She would never be able to replace her actual mother and wouldn't wish to either. She was a nice woman. She didn't deserve what she had coming to her. She couldn't help but feel that her death was partly because of her but worst of all, the doing of Aella and she didn't even know it yet. She wasn't even here. She found herself hating her. Despising her. Why wasn't she here?

She was sitting at the table when she felt a little tug on her sleeve. She looked down to see Tess staring up at her with her big eyes.

"What is it, Sweetie?" She asked.

Tess blinked. "I think Nik is sad."

Annie nodded. "Yes."

"Really sad. I think he's crying."

Annie glanced at the door into the next room. It wasn't exactly spacious but it was still big enough for some people to wallow. She didn't know whether it would be wise to walk in and check on him but Tess seemed to want her to check if he was okay. There was nothing worse than having a kid ill at ease. But she still wasn't sure. She wasn't sure whether she wanted to see him like that or whether he would want her to see him like that.

"I think someone needs to talk to him." Tess insisted.

Annie sighed and nodded. "Okay."

She got to her feet and walked over to the door. Should she knock or just walk in? She cleared her throat and pushed the door open hesitantly and heard a low, distinct whimpering noise. She could hardly hear it in the darkness but it was there.

"Nik?"

Nothing.

"Nik, it's Annie. Tess is really worried about you and asked for me to come talk to you."

She walked slowly through the darkness only being able to see the silhouette of random objects which had been thrown in there over the years and in the corner she could see a person she could only assume to be Nik. He almost seemed like another random piece of junk that had been thrown in there at first but whenever she heard that whimpering noise she saw something move in the corner. When she walked in and spoke she saw something look up and froze in that stance. She knew then it was him. He had been waiting for her. Or for someone. Maybe he had been waiting for her for longer than both of them expected. Perhaps he was shocked to find her there. Almost like he was surprised that she cared enough to come in and see if he was okay.

He wiped his eyes and turned away. "I'm fine."

She sat down beside him and shook her head. "No you're not. I'm pretty much an expert on loosing family members so I think you should know better than to lie to me when you're lying to me about how you're taking it."

"Okay, Annie. If you want me to talk to you can we first lay off the jokes."

"I wasn't joking."

He sighed. "I just feel that if I was there of if even Aella was there perhaps...Perhaps they'd still be here. But I know I can't change anything. I can't help thinking about it but I know that its completely useless thinking about things like that."

She nodded. "But its human. It was all I could think about when my parents died. If only I had told my Dad not to go that night. If only I had taken a job and saved some money when they told me to. None of my parents would be dead if I had done something to stop it. I attributed everything that had happened to them to the decisions I had made, just like you're doing now. The only reason why you do that is because you're the person who was left behind. You're the person who was left to bare a guilt which isn't yours to carry. But because that person that you loved so much is dead you can't help but feel responsible."

The words just flowed from her mind to her mouth so willingly and naturally after she had had finished she couldn't quite believe what she had said. She didn't realise how much she had been feeling even after she had spoken to Shayna months ago and on the odd occasion with Aella. She didn't realise how much she had left unsaid. Not even he could believe it. When she saw the look on his face she knew then what she had done. She had let the cat out the bag. She had more or less told him something she had not been able to even admit to herself. It was something only he could understand so that must have been the reason why she could tell him but she knew deep down there was so much more to it than that. She was never one to give great speeches or had a huge amount of wisdom only because she was so young. She had hardly an experience of the real world. The rest of the team certainly didn't miss out on any chance to remind her of that, despite what she had been through but the magnitude her words carried just made her realise how little she knew.

But also that she knew too much for someone of her age. It was that moment when she realised that she had seen almost too much of the world. She wasn't ready for all of this. That there was too much reality she had been faced with but she didn't cry once about it. She didn't even shed a tear despite all that sorrow and remorse she had felt. It was all that anger she allowed to overwhelm her actions and control her emotions. She had run through that fire but she didn't get burned. But in these things you needed to get burned to make you realise that you were still human and you still needed to stop yourself from doing something reckless like she was doing now. Fighting in an underground movement where she could be found, questioned, tortured and killed at any moment. Sitting down in a small, narrow space with a dangerous, distressed man who she was unsure as to what relationship she had with him.

"Nik..."

"Yes?"

"I don't want to tell you how you should feel right now...but I want to at least ask you not to hate yourself too much."

He shook his head. "I don't hate myself. Its someone else."

She frowned. "Who?"

"You know who."

~ (***) ~

There was a knock on the door while Ashelin looked over the reports for the month. She glanced up at the door and flicked through quickly knowing that it was all going to be the same. She thought it would be best to look like she was willing to take on the least desired job to do in the unit so that she would at least know what was going on rather than being lied to by someone high up and wrapped around her fathers little finger. She looked through the overview and shook her head. If she was weaker woman she would've broken down and cried by now. But she was only her mothers daughter when it came to her levels of compassion. Like her father, she wasn't a sentimental person. She still couldn't deny the shock and horror at the results of the Krimson Guards efforts for this month. She was sure her father would be incredibly proud. More people had been killed than in any other month in the history of the Krimson Guards existence but then again the purges didn't exactly helped those numbers. She should've said something to her father. Perhaps make him see a little sense...

Then the little voice in her head told her that was the easiest way to get yourself thrown into prison on account of treason or even be strangled with his bare hands. It wasn't going to do her or the city any good by having a temper tantrum with her father. Another thing she had inherited from him was his stubbornness. No one would be able to change his mind about anything. Not her, not her mother, not his mistress. No one. She had no other option than to remain silent. Neither of those options were desired nor helpful if she was going to try and protect the city from him in the quietest way possible. It was pathetic but it was all she could do. It was all anyone could do. Other than Aella Auroalis that is. She was surprised nothing bad had happened to her mother yet. Most people who had done less than what her mother did to her father on a daily basis had received the death penalty. She knew now it was only a matter of time for her mother until the Baron would decide to do something about her.

She jumped off the bed and walked over to the door. When she opened it she was surprised to see Torn there. She glanced around and there was no servant in sight. The servants always escorted guests which only meant he had broke into the palace. She made a quick gesture for him to come in and closed the door behind her.

"What is it Torn?"

He had his eye cast to the ground for a while before he answered. It almost took him an age for him to speak.

"I'm leaving."

She blinked. "The city?"

"No. The Krimson Guard."

She folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. "You didn't have to break into the palace to tell me that, Torn. If I remember correctly you go to the main office to hand in your-"

He shook his head. "I didn't come here to just tell you that. I also came here...I came here to ask for your help."

She frowned. "What do you need help for?"

"Do you know where to find Aella Auroalis?"

She stepped back a little. "Why?"

"After I saw what happened in the purges...It got me thinking. I can't do this anymore Ashelin. I joined the Krimson Guard to help people not kill them. I now know that there is only one way I can do that..."

Ashelin shook her head and took him by the shoulders. "No. Torn, listen to me. You need to think about this. If the Baron finds out, if he captures you he will kill you."

"I know. But the rest of the Underground take that risk everyday and I would rather take that risk rather than risk the small amount of decency that I have left. So...Will you help me or not?"

~ (***) ~

The old King was dying. It was simply his time and there was nothing he could do to prevent from what was going to happen by the nights end. But he was content. He had an heir now. He didn't have to worry about how the city would be ruled after he was gone since the man who would be in a few hours be King was ready. Even if he didn't know it. The whole city of Spargus was waiting for it now. They were all waiting for that small, significant moment where all their lives would be changed. The First King of Spargus would be dead and the New King would bring a new age. Neither better or worse. They couldn't say because none had the ability of the future. No one knew what to expect.

Everyone was now sitting by the camp fires in the cold night wind dotted out in the city streets praying to the Precursors for him to have a safe passage into the next life. There was no need to fear such a fate. Everyone who waited for this day knew that there was nothing to fear to be released from the strains and pains of mortality. They all knew, as warriors, that death was inevitable. Death was something that they welcomed. It was something that they all faced every day. If they were stared in the face of death they would simply laugh or open their arms to embrace death. There was no reason to mourn because it was something to celebrate rather than damn. He was passing into the transcendental place where he would be rewarded for his efforts and bravery.

However there was one person who was feeling a small amount of sympathy for the Kings eventual passing. As much as he was ashamed to feel such emotions, there was still a small part of him, the human part of him which wanted to mourn for his passing. The one person he allowed to be by his bedside as his own blood-bound kin. Of all people, the one person who was by his side and of his blood was the only one who wasn't completely joyful for him passing onto the next life. He was not the only one left in this world but it was the only one who had time to be here. News had been sent to his Grand-daughter but there was no answer. She simply didn't receive it in time or didn't want to acknowledge it. Maybe she was still hardened herself by the treatment of her brother. Damas, was a hardened man after the past few years experiences but he couldn't help feeling like he was loosing another person he loved more than he cared to admit.

As much as he tried to wipe her away from his memory, Damas was haunted by Aella. He should hate her for breaking his heart the way that she did. She was the reason why he was the brutal warrior he now was. People in the city either admired or feared him. No one knew why he was the way he was. But he couldn't get away from him. In his dreams, in broad daylight, in his mind, his memories. Everywhere. Whenever there was news from Haven City that he received from Sig most of it was about what Aella had been doing with regards to her efforts with the Underground. She always had to be fighting against something, even if it was something which was naturally a part of her. She should be here. She should take her place beside him and rule over Spargus but she was still in denial because of her emotional ties to Haven City. One day she would see. One day something will happen to make her see the light.

"Daaayy." The Old King groaned.

He stepped forward with an emotionless expression on his face. "Yes, Sire."

"Daaayy."

Damas had been through this before when his father died. He had stood in that cold, dark room before. He could remember his sister sniffling in the corner as his life deteriorated. Like now, Damas didn't shed a tear. There was no point. He was already on death's door there was no point using tears to obtain the sympathies of death. His time had come, as the time of the Old King had come for him now. But this time Damas didn't want him to go. It wasn't that he wanted his father to die. It wasn't that he hated his father. It was just that he didn't want to his Grandfather to die as much as he didn't want his father to die. Perhaps it was because he had a closer relationship with this man than he ever had with his father. He never felt this way about someone dying since the time when Aella was on her deathbed. Only it was a lot more intense when Aella was dying. He had made the transition from Prince to King before so why was it so difficult now? Perhaps this man, even in his old age, was as great, no greater than his father ever was even in his youth. Maybe it was because this was the last tie he had to another person. Perhaps if he had a child of his own it wouldn't be so difficult. He wouldn't feel so alone.

There was a knock on the door. "Don't come in."

The knocking had become more insistant. "I said don't come in!" He shouted.

"My Lord." He spun round and was about to bark at whoever it was and stopped himself when he saw who it was. The figure rushed over to him and whispered into his ear. Damas placed a hand on his shoulder and brought him closer so he could be quieter. He didn't want to disturb the King.

"I have news, my Lord. About Lady Auroalis."

His eyes widened and shook him by the shoulder slightly. "Tell me. Tell me quickly."

"She came to the White Mountain Temple today. I could only get away after the late night ritual I am sorry. I tried to get here as fast as I could." Valador said quickly.

"You did well. You did well." He assured him quietly.

Valador nodded and turned to the old man in the bed. "He doesn't have long does he?"

Damas sighed and shook his head. "No."

"What do you want me to do my Lord?"

Damas stared at his Grandfather and then turned to Valador. "Bring her here. Do what ever it takes."

"But my Lord I have no idea how I can convince her to-"

"Just do it, Valador. That's an order."


	9. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Jak and Daxter and I do not own Superior Mind by Amy Studt.

Chapter Eight

For **Azeres**

_If you still believe in what you said was right, _

_You kept saying that you loved me, but you were wrong,_

_It was lust at first sight._

_It's been this way as far as we can remember._

_Why do you always make this yours to punish._

_Without the scars to show, you will never grow._

_Amy Studt, Superior Mind_

~ (***) ~

_The confession game is always fun to play._

_Have you ever had to confess to something so terrible, so horrible that once you started you wouldn't be able to stop crying?_

_I'm sure you've had your fair share of confrontation with anything bad you've done. Perhaps not as bad as the things I've done._

_This isn't your mother giving you a lecture or accusing you of anything, I'm just hoping you're going to emphasise with me on this one. Although I hope you have been reading this with an open mind so far. _

_I've had to wait a long time before I had to confront my confessors and let me tell you something, its much better to do it in tiny steps if you're considering atoning for your sins. Having just a wave of accusers coming crashing over you can be so overwhelming. Let alone being a strain on the soul. I knew I never meant by anything to hurt anyone all those years ago but it happened. A less moral person would say that it didn't matter what I thought or felt because the dead are still dead and that I must move on. There is no reason for atonement. But there is. There is always a time for atonement otherwise we'll have to pay for our sins for whatever life is waiting for us after this one. This is speaking from the voice of experience and having to confess to the two people who I have wronged more than anyone in the space of such a small amount of time you wish you could turn back to the clocks and pace all of it a little bit more. Then again there are plenty of other things which I would turn the clock back for but it doesn't mean I can so there's no point dwelling on it. Still we all do it, don't we? Confession and guilt are a lot more exhausting than it seems. People just think you sit there and you talk, then you cry, then you're forgiven. _

_Then BAM! You're fine. Not the case. _

_That guilt stays with you long after you've let it out into the world because it doesn't know where to go. We don't know where to place the guilt after having it being resting on our hearts for so long it knows no other place to reside. _

_It's like a really possessive, attached child which doesn't know what to do or where to go once its been allowed to leave the nest so it hangs around a little while. Its only because it seems to be its natural environment and now its been told that it has to leave and never return. _

_Almost like an act of denial only ten times worse. _

~ (***) ~

Aella sat there in the cold library feeling like she was sitting under the hot baking sun. Never had she been in a more terrified her life before and at the moment in time she thought she would never face anything more frightening than this and hoped that if she got through this experience she would be able to face anything. She had faced the most ferocious creatures which had ever set foot on the face of her planet and survived without a scratch. More or less. She had bravely risked her life for thousands of people she knew she would never meet, for a cause she didn't really need to fight. But right now she was sat in front of a small, frail young girl staring up at her, waiting patiently for her to begin to speak and she was shivering like a leaf in the cold wind.

"I hope you don't find me too forward but I'm guessing you might be leaving soon and I wanted to talk to you the one chance that I had."

Aella raised her eyebrow. "What makes you think I won't be coming back?"

Seem looked down with a little hint of a smile in the corner of her mouth. "I wouldn't imagine that you would want to stay here for long."

Aella narrowed her eyes. "Because I'm a violent person and such a peaceful place shouldn't have someone like me here?"

Seem shook her head. "No. I just think that you're too restless for such a life."

Aella blinked and looked away in embarrassment at her rudeness. "Oh. Well..." She scratched the back of her head. "I suppose I just begin by...Well...Apologising..."

Seem looked up. "So this is a confession? If this is what it is there isn't really much point."

Aella sighed. "How so?"

"Well we both know what happened that day and I know it wasn't your fault."

"Now you're wrong on that second point. If I wasn't there on that team that wouldn't have happened."

"You didn't start the fire." Seem replied calmly.

"No, just the bomb which I helped construct and then plant in your home did. I did start the fire more or less."

Seem looked away and almost seemed to smile for a moment. Aella couldn't think how she could have a good reason to smile, considering what they were talking about. Did she think that simple but brutal fact not just on Seem but Aella was some sort of joke? This was all her fault. If it wasn't for her Seem would probably be happy with her family. Aella wasn't making any presumptions about how she felt about her life at the Temple but she was sure that most people would want to be with their families if they had a choice in the matter. Aella may have had a normal childhood. She could've finished school and done something else with her life. It would have been interesting to see what she could've made with her life with a normal childhood. She may or may not have joined the KG and been the tough as nails girl that she was and was almost resilient to anything, including some emotions she didn't want to admit to feeling deep down.

She may not have eventually worked for the King of Haven City. She may not have even met him but only seen him from a distance. None of this may have happened if it wasn't for her. She may have been the link between the formulation of Praxis' plans and Damos' downfall. She may not have come to know and appreciate the man that he was. She may not have come to know him enough to fall in love with him. None of this would have happened if her mother hadn't dragged them into the Hip Hog Saloon that dark, cold, rainy night. Of all things, she had that night to thank for every horrible and wonderful thing that happened to her. None of this wouldn't have happened if her mother wasn't a former mistress to a Baron of the city or was as easy as she was. Then again Aella wouldn't have been born if it wasn't for that either.

~ (***) ~

Annie knew that Nik hadn't slept a wink that night before he even walked through the door. She could remember from losing her parents that she wasn't able to sleep for weeks after her mothers death. She decided to take Tess and Oz to the house she was staying in knowing Nik was in no position to take care of them at their headquarters but she knew he wasn't going to be anywhere else for as long as Aella was out of the city. She was praying now for her return. Before she was hoping she would never come back after everything that had happened. But if it meant that once she stepped foot back on Haven soil Nik would go home and rest she would rather she came back and bring all her complicated, self-destructive emotions with her. Annie hated seeing Nik like this. It wasn't him, not only was he stronger than this but even the hope that he always had burning in his eyes was dying out. There was hardly any light in there at all now.

Whenever she felt like there was nothing to hope for or that on a mission the likelihood of them succeeding was low all she had to do was look at Nik and he would give her this hopeful reassuring look as if to tell her that everything was going to be okay. He was like her personal safety blanket at the times when she felt like she wasn't going to get through whatever it was she had face. Even when it was a time when she felt like giving up he was always able to pull her up and get her back on her feet. It was that look in his eyes which kept her going. That there was no reason for her to be worried. That despite everything she was giving up that there was a reason for it all in the end. That he was going to make sure that they would all get out alive and everything, in the end would be fine. That this dark age of Praxis' rule would be over.

She could see that all the hope that the Underground had was resting not in Aella's heart but in Nik's eyes. Now she couldn't find anything at all now. She kept searching but she knew that there was nothing to be found in his empty eyes. The death of all the hope that he had died along with Shayna and Duke. Almost. She knew there was something left in there. She wasn't willing to give up easily on him. She knew that there would still be hope for him. Nik was like his older sister in some ways. He was sometimes quite stubborn when it came to what he believed in and what he felt. Even if it was something he didn't want to admit to. She knew there was something, some emotion behind all Aella's actions and decisions that she wasn't admitting to. Not even herself and knew that at a time just like this Nik would be the same.

She stepped through the door and walked down the corridor slowly to see him at the table. He jumped at her presence and saw the dark rings sitting under his eyes like the gray ghosts dwelling in his mind.

"Annie." He croaked. "You're here. Good. I haven't heard from Barack yet and I was wondering if you knew where he was."

She shook her head. "No, Nik. I'm not going to tell you where he is. Because you know where he is. He's at his safe house which you allocated to him a few months ago. You know where to find him you just want him to come here to talk to him about the next mission and that is not going to happen."

Nik looked at her blankly. "I don't understand."

"You fully understand what I'm trying to tell you, Nik. You just don't want to listen."

He shook his head as if she had made some annoying, irrelevant comment. "Look, I've been thinking about when we should stage our next atta-"

"DAMN IT NIK YOU'VE JUST LOST THE TWO PARENTS WHO EVER LOVED YOU AND YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT OUR NEXT ATTACK ON PRAXIS!" She screamed.

Nik stared at her wordlessly. "Annie what's gotten over you?"

"What's come over me? What about you? You're practically comatose after what's happened to Shayna and Duke."

"Well can you blame me? Of all people Annie you should understand how I'm feeling. You understand what its like to loose someone you love."

"That's right so I also know that what you're doing now isn't helping. You're trying to get through the five stages of grief as quickly and painlessly as you possibly can without realising that just isn't possible. You're trying to take your sisters place until she gets here to make the blow she's going to feel less painful but nothing you're going to do is going to make it any less painful for her as it is for you right now. Just let yourself breathe...Even for a moment. You need to accept that loss, Nik. Or else-"

Then there was a knock on the door.

~ (***) ~

Maybe that was the point. Maybe that was why Aella was here. The question had been going round and round in her head and she was getting no answer because it wasn't about her listening but looking out for an answer. Maybe this was why the Precursors and Onin sent her here. It wasn't to learn more about herself and where she was supposed to take her next step but more to look back at the journey she had already made and think about why she took those turnings or decided on that path and accept that otherwise how was she supposed to accept where she was now? Everything she had done, all the choices she had made lead her to this point in her life and there was nothing she could do to change that. All she could do was to lay them out on the table and accept it. It was the only way she was going to move forward and the first step towards acceptance was confrontation.

Her confrontation came in the form of a young girl whose life she took away just because she was afraid of walking away from a life she didn't want. She was afraid of what they may do to her mother and younger brothers if she walked away from Krew because she knew how dangerous he was rather than doing the right thing. Now what she was having to confront was merely her past catching up with her. Telling her that she had gone on long enough without being punished for her misdeeds and pretending that she was any better than the person she was fighting against. She was practically throwing money in his back pocket. It was kind of ironic really. There was this destiny laid out before her that she was constantly running away from but it wasn't nearly as self-destructive as the life she had once lived but she was too much of a coward to give up and in fact it took the death of the woman who threw her into it to give her a reason to turn away from it not the death of a little girl and her Grandparents. In fact it was the only thing which would be able to give her some form of redemption for what she had done.

Seem chuckled. "Why don't you just ask me what you want to ask?"

Aella looked down. "Because I'm afraid I'm not going to like what you're going to say."

Seem gave her an amused smile. "How do you know what I'm going to say?"

Aella rolled her eyes. "Because so far you've been too kind. You've been too kind for some who's life I've ruined. The answer you'll give me will be more than I deserve. I need some form of punishment for what I've done to you."

"Is that why you're doing what you're doing now? You're punishing yourself?"

Aella shook her head. "No...Yes. Sort of a bit of both. I'm...denying myself the easy option of what I could do next but it has nothing to do with what happened with you."

"Really? Are you sure about that?"

"I'm pretty sure...Why did you forgive me?"

"Because you deserve it. Because its what someone in your position would want deep down. I knew from that one look you gave me before disappearing that you were so sorry about what happened to me.."

"Yeah well that's because that wasn't supposed to happen to you. You were supposed to be a normal little girl. You were supposed to have a future."

Seem blinked at her. "Well I did have a future. You didn't change anything about the path which I ended being placed in front of. We of all people should know we can't cheat destiny."

"Well I've been trying to find a loop hole in the system for the past few years." Aella muttered.

"You want to run away from your destiny? When you're an oracle?" Seem chuckled to herself. "I haven't seen that one before."

"Man, I didn't know word would get around that quickly."

Seem shook her head. "No, when I saw you have your vision in the temple. You could say I'm a bit of an expert on the matter. Considering..."

"Considering what?"

"That I'm one too."

~ (***) ~

Ashelin sat in her chambers all night long until the sun rose up again thinking of Torn. She was so proud of him for leaving the Krimson Guard. She was so proud of him of taking the hard but moral option opposed to what she was doing. Staying. Staying just because she was afraid of what her father might do to her if she fought against him, even silently. She hadn't even done anything yet to be of some help to the Underground or even to the civilians of Haven City. Yet she was trying to dissuade Torn from doing anything of a sort. She wanted to say it was because she wanted to make sure he wasn't acting as a spy for her father to see where her true loyalties lied. But it was not only because she wanted to go with him when she was knew she couldn't but it was also because she cared for him. She knew he was going to end up getting hurt or the likelihood of him having his life being put at risk was going to be numerous and she didn't like those odds.

She didn't want to admit to it because she wasn't a sentimental person. She didn't want her emotions to get the better of her. And she had also seen where love could get her. Her mother wasnt the only cautionary tale. If the rumours were true, there was an emotional element within the actions of Aella Auroalis which would make a lot of sense if they were true as much as it would surprise Ashelin. She didn't want to be a girl that would admit to having feelings for someone that she worked with because then that would lead to her compromising all those decisions she would have to make in situations she would have to face everyday. She had seen in before and she knew prior to witnessing these examples that emotions mixed with violence never ended well. She would also be wasting energy worrying about the other person all the time since you knew they would always be in dangerous situations. It was more a choice made out of common sense rather than just to be self-sacrificing. That was something which she looked upon with contempt because it never came without a small amount of self-indulgence.

She knew the one person she had to go to for some piece of mind was her mother. She knew she would be able to talk to her mother without any fear. She would never pass on information to her father. She was always the person who would be there to listen to her and hug her if she ever wanted to be hugged. Ashelin never permitted her mother to hug her even as a child. The idea of having any form of contact with another person made her want to gag. Her mother was warm and loving as her father was cold and brutal. She knew that as her mother was hot and her father was cold Ashelin must be the steam when both collided. That sharp, hissing sound when the two didn't agree and signalled the conflict between the two polar opposites. She may have had emotions but she kept them in check. She wanted to help other people and stand up to her father but common sense told her not to.

She marched down the corridor, even ignoring Erol who called out to her. She made a hand gesture as if to tell him she would talk to him later. She walked into her mothers chambers slamming and locking the door behind her so Erol wouldn't come in.

Her mother looked up to see what the commotion was. "Ashelin?"

"Hello Mother." She greeted dryly.

"What is it?"

"I...I needed to talk to you. I need to ask whether...I don't know whether what I'm doing is the right thing."

Cortensa smiled sadly. "I've always known since you were a small child that you were never going to lead the same life as me. I knew that you were going to grow up to be strong and face any challenge fearlessly. I know you think that working for your father makes you a bad person but I like to think you at least have a part of me in you which would mean that you don't completely agree with your father and what he has done. I know you don't talk about it openly but a mother can see what their child is thinking and what their child believes."

Ashelin sighed and felt her eyes beginning to sting but she knew the room was dark enough for her mother not to see.

She almost laughed. "I was kind of hoping that you would convince me otherwise and...try to do as father tells me and be obedient. But I suppose I got me rebellious nature for someone and I know that certainly isn't from Dad."

Cortensa smiled. "No. You certainly didn't."

~ (***) ~

Nik and Annie turned to the door and exchanged a look. This wasn't good. They knew it wasn't Barack since he would never knock on the door. Annie knew it wasn't Barack since she had spoken to him that morning and expressed no desire of going to headquarters until Annie had spoken to Nik let alone talk some sense into him. Barack wasn't stubborn he was just patient. It had to be someone else. Perhaps it was the Krimson Guard finally tracking them down. Neither of them wanting to think that but they always knew that it was always going to be a possibilities at moments such as this. Or it could be Tess and Oz who had followed her and obviously didn't know the rules. Nik glanced at Annie who rolled her eyes and climbed through the hole in the wall into the house next door. It was in fact the house of an ex-council member who went into hiding when Praxis rose to power knowing that he was a 'royalist' he knew he would be killed along with some members of the monastery and other council members who had opposed Praxis on every turn. She looked through the window and saw a tall, red-haired man with a gruesome face tattooed by the Krimson Guard.

She jumped back from the window and pressed herself against the wall. She felt her heart pounding in her chest knowing of the danger looming over their heads was now right at their door. Literally. They had finally found them. It was all over for them. All the efforts they had put in for all these years had come to waste. She felt so ashamed of the fact that Aella had been away for a couple of days and as soon as she left no one could hold up the fort. But there was still time. He wouldn't be able to get in without the code but their system was so simplistic that the basic training an undercover operative would be sufficient for him to break in. She rushed towards the wall and dragged her way through so quickly she felt the nails and bits of wall sticking out digging and scratching at her flesh. She hissed through clenched teeth and tried to slide out the hole as quickly and gracefully as possible, only to find a second and a bump on the head later that the two concepts didn't go together.

Nik frowned at her. "Annie what's wrong?"

"There's a man at the door. He's with the Krimson Guard." She groaned rubbing her head.

Nik eyes widened and grabbed her by the arm. "We've got to go. There's a secret way out of here. Its the one Aella uses."

"Wait he won't know me. Perhaps I can distract him while you can get away."

"But what if he suspects something, Annie? What if he arrests and tortures you? I know you're strong-willed but you haven't seen a man being tortured." He insisted.

She raised an eyebrow. "Have you seen a woman being tortured?"

"Don't start on the women's issue now. Listen to me, the methods of torture were pretty brutal under Damas' rule I can't imagine they've gotten any better now that Praxis is in control of it all."

"Are you sure you're worried about what I'll tell them about the Underground?" She asked dryly after there being another knock on the door.

"Of course I'm not just afraid of that. I'm-" He stopped knowing he shouldn't say any more.

She frowned. "Nik what is it?"

He sighed. "Look now is not the time, Annie. We need to get away. Now!"

He lifted up the hidden passage way and shoved Annie in before crawling in after her. Annie sighed knowing she had no choice but to do as she was told and crawled through until she found herself tumbling out of another hole in the wall only to find this fall a lot more unpleasant than the first one. Instead of falling down onto hard, stone ground, she fell into a dark, cold canal underground and the next moment she could feel odorous, slimy water filling her nostrils and had the taste of poisonous, disgusting grime in her mouth. She waved her arms about trying to find something to hold onto so she could pull herself out. She felt a pair of strong hands grabbed her and pull her out of the water. She coughed uncontrollably for a few minutes as she attempted to breathe once again.

"You really are the clumsiest person I have ever met." Nik muttered.

~ (***) ~

Torn had been waiting for hours now. He wrapped his arms around himself as it had gotten cold. He decided to sit down on the ground and lean his body against the wall after standing there for too long. He was going to wait this out. He was going to do what ever it took to at least see them. He had handed in his resignation that morning. He threw away everything he knew and everything he had fought for years. He could remember Lady Auroalis or as she was known in those days, Aella as she sped through the years. He was sure if he spoke to her once he would be able to convince her he wasn't here to betray them but to fight with and for them. He glanced around the street wondering if someone had been watching him. He felt like such an idiot standing outside waiting for someone to answer the door as if it was some social call. As if someone was going to answer the door with tattoo which which was plastered on her face. They probably thought he was here to rat them out. If he ever got to talk to them they would laugh in his face and tell him that they thought he was here to act as a spy for Praxis.

"Torn!"

Torn jumped at the sound of someone calling his name and immediately put his hand on his holster. He scanned the area only to see Ashelin glancing around the corner and making a gesture with her head to come over to talk to her. He frowned and did as he was told.

"Ashelin what are you doing here?"

"Did you talk to her?"

He shook his head. "No. No one answered. They probably think I'm a spy or that they think they've found them or something."

"Listen Torn I can talk to them. I know their family. I met her once I'm sure she'll talk to me."

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure because you didn't seem so supportive when I came to you for help last night."

She cast her eyes to the ground. He was right. She did have a change of heart, she would only be ashamed to admit that it took a heart to heart with her mother to convince herself to do what she hadn't and should have been doing for the past few years rather than having a heart to heart with herself. She was just afraid with confronting her own faults but she was perfectly fine with criticising the faults of other. Not just her fathers. Perhaps even Torn's. She was happy to look at him and wonder why he was so naïve. She even took a few moments to wonder what the reasons for Aella's actions were. It took a single day for Torn to realise the difference between right and wrong and to see what he had to do without thinking about the consequences of his actions if he continued to blindly follow her father simply out of fear. Ashelin on the other hand had known about her father for years but she still couldn't be able to find the courage to do the right thing, until she found someone to see it and point it out to her. What she hated the most was that she was stupid enough to not be able to figure all of this out by herself.

She shrugged her shoulders. "Change of heart. Or more...I've always felt like this. You knew that. You must have always known that I've never agreed with my fathers...methods."

He folded his arms, chuckling. "I have to admit it wasn't hard to tell that you weren't his biggest fan. I thought at first it was teen angst but now I can see it goes further than that."

She looked down at the ground and turned away for a moment. "My father had always been cold and brutal. Even towards my mother. I don't even know if...I know the real reason as to how he got on the throne. It had a lot to do with his popularity within the council but it was only when he got high enough that he would be eligible to be elected in an emergency of there not being a ruler."

"Ashelin what are you trying to tell me?"

"That Damas had been set up. He never betrayed the city nor did Lady Auroalis ever enchant him or whatever. I know you've had these suspicions of my father otherwise you wouldn't be here."

Torn shook his head. "I'm against what you're father is doing Ashelin but I've never made any presumptions about what happened four years ago-"

"My father somehow set Damas up. I don't know how. Damas and Lady Auroalis. They were both innocent."

"Well why didn't he come back and clear his name? Why did she come back?"

She grinned. "I don't know. Perhaps that's something you could ask her when you meet her."

~ (***) ~

Aella leaned forward. "You're an oracle?"

Seem nodded. "You could say I was somewhat responsible for what happened that day as well. I saw a dream. Well I was having it over and over again for a few weeks leading up to that day. So I suppose it was my fault for being too afraid to say anything."

Aella shook her head. "No. No you mustn't think that. Okay? What happened that day had nothing to do with you. It was to do with the actions I took. If I wasn't so afraid to stand up to Krew we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"Really? Aella we can't cheat destiny. If you hadn't been there that day it still would have happened eventually. You would eventually cross paths with me-"

"Yeah, save the massive amount of guilt."

"So why are you feeling so guilty about what you're seeing now? I left what happened that day far behind me because I have accepted that it is part of the bigger plan."

Aella scoffed. "Yeah. Kill a few save a lot."

"You can't question their decision, Aella."

"Yeah not if I can help it. Look, I know I'm supposed to give birth to the saviour of us all but what if more lives could be saved if I do all of that myself. I would be saving my son a lot of trouble and grief if I do it for him."

"But you would also be denying him the right to life." Seem pointed out. "You never thought of that did you? You never thought in your wave of good intentions as to whether you denying him a chance at existence is moral. That's what you should be more concerned about."

"Do you know of the terrible things that I see? Do you know what- Do you not even wonder if we try to do things differently to what they want? Hell, I haven't even seen some of the things I see actually happen in front of me."

"You've seen the Baron rise to power isn't that enough proof that all of this is real, Aella?"

"I'm not saying that. All I'm saying is that the others things haven't happened yet so maybe there can still be a chance for me to change all of it."

Seem shook her head. "You are so desperate to run away from your destiny. You are so afraid of what may happen because this wasn't the life you planned out for yourself."

"Well all my life someone has had some control over where it should go! First my mother and once she was dead I was finally able to make a life for myself! Then I was sent to work for Damas and then he started making presumptions about it well after the big guys up there decided to test how much free will I had. Can you really blame me for simply being-"

"Human. That's how you're behaving, which isn't your fault but you've got to rise above it."

"Why is it my place to rise above such things? Why me? Why was I chosen?"

"Because of who you are." Seem answered simply.

Aella tilted her head dramatically. "And who am I?" She asked in a mock-dramatic voice.

"Your father's daughter."

Aella frowned. "My what?"


	10. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Jak and Daxter and I do not own Superior Mind by Amy Studt

Chapter Nine

For **Ecomadness**

_It'll never change, it'll never make sense._

_Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no._

_You'll never find your way, if you never used to play there._

_Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no._

_You keep making the same mistakes over and over._

_Your love turns to hate, and your hate turns to love._

_To cure all the things you used to be dreaming of._

_Superior Mind, Amy Studt_

~ (***) ~

The concept of having a father has always escaped Aella. All the other girls she knew from school or how lived near her always seemed close to their fathers but whenever she saw them together she was never upset about the fact that she didn't have a father because that would imply she was feeling like she was missing out on something. Surprisingly enough Aella never saw the point in missing something she never had. The idea of her even having one never bothered her as she accepted long ago she knew the man who had conceived her was unlikely to show up on her doorstep telling her who he was. She knew that was a fairy-tale a lot of girls in her position dreamt about almost every night but Aella knew there was no point in making up fairy-tales, espeically in this harsh world. Especially with what her mother was like and the consistency within the type of men she attracted it was unlikely to be someone she wanted to meet. It wasn't someone you would be proud to point out in the street and say '_See that guy he's my Dad'. _Her imagined reaction was looking away and begrudgingly admitting to the unfortunate connection she had with the man. So when she heard someone mention her father to her it really had no effect on her...At first.

When she heard the words_'you are your father's daughter' _she would've regarded that as something which generally wasn't a good thing. A warrior, hired gun or terrorist wasn't exactly words which sprung to mind when you were asked what should be required within an ideal father figure. But considering the context this was being mentioned under implied something else entirely. This implied that her gift was something which had been passed down to her. So her son may even be given this gift which she has been passed down to her from her father. Whoever he was. The only question she had to ask was how did Seem know this? Did she meet him? Was she instructed by him? If she knew who she was and who her father was why had he not sought her out? Was it because of her reputation and what she had had done to others? She hadn't been bothered about not having a father, she had plenty of good father figures in her life but she couldn't help but feel a little hurt by all the lack of attention she had received as a daughter. He sounded like a 'good' guy if he was supposedly not like the idea she once had in her mind. She could even bet a lot of money that he knew that this 'gift' would be passed down onto his child.

She could imagine her mother not bothering to tell him she was pregnant with his child but then again she couldn't imagine her mother with a holy man either. Then again Seem knew who her father was which meant someone else had to know in order to tell her and someone had to know about the relationship he had with someone which was of course forbidden amongst monks and she couldn't imagine it being something which she allowed ot be public knowledge amongst the holy community. Unless he was a little bit of a rebel towards the order. She was sure she got a little bit of her rebellious side from her mother but she was rebellious for entirely different reasons to her. So perhaps she could imagine why the two would be attracted towards one another being two rebellious souls. But then she could remember Pecker recalling another Oracle coming into the city with a 'party girl' which was more than enough to assure her that she was talking about her parents. She had to make a mental note to ask after this mysterious, passing Oracle when she arrived back in the city.

"Do you know my father?" She demanded.

Seem nodded. "Yes."

"He instructed you. In the art of being an oracle?"

Seem nodded yet again wordlessly.

"Why did he never seek me out? Why didn't he try to find me if he knew about my existence? Or did he simply want to ignore the great shame he brought upon himself?"

Seem blinked. "Why would there be any shame in having the next Aella?"

Aella rolled her eyes. "I know monks are forbidden to have sexual relations with others. I'm not stupid I was almost pulled into the monastery myself when they found out what I could do."

Seem regarded her coolly. "Because he knew it was you who had to go to him not the other way round."

"Well it would've been nice to have a father around. I wasn't expecting him to marry my mother, Precursors I wouldn't wish that anyone. But he could've come for me. I'm sure he knew my mother was going to die pretty early on."

"He was only going to see once you needed him. Your gift has not become apparent until the recent years. You haven't needed him until this point."

"Can you tell me where he is? When I need him?" She added.

Seem looked away. "You might not like my answer."

Aella looked at her. Obviously these monks were wittier than people thought. Most people thought that they were polite and respected others but surely Seem should know that by saying this was enough to tick her off. This girl in particular seemed to want to push her buttons. She was avoiding her questions on some turns and she didn't want her to fully know the truth about her father. Although when Aella looked at her she had a serious expression her face. That sort of expression could be trained anyone could try an look serious and not mean anything by it if they had trained themselves for long enough. Aella could even get away with taking the piss out of someone by just putting a serious expression on her face.

Aella narrowed her eyes. "Don't push it."

"I wasn't teasing. I'm being serious. Listen I was going to go to him anyway but not for a while. I'm still to finish my training here then I will send word for you to come and travel with me to where he is now residing."

"And where is that?" Seem opened her mouth but no words came out. Aella leaned forward and glared at her menacingly. "Where is it?" She insisted.

"Spargus." She answered.

~ (***) ~

Samos walked through the streets of Haven City wearily knowing that if he was seen by the wrong people he would be arrested on sight. This place had no place for sages or monks any more. Unless you were willing to sell your soul to Praxis rather than giving it to the Precursors. Once it was a Haven by name but ever since the dark shadow of Praxis was cast across the city it was no longer a Haven by name nor by nature. He was taking a huge risk in coming here but he knew that there was no denying what the vision had told him. There were never any mistakes in who received these visions nor by what they meant. He had to find her. He had to find the leader of the Underground and request membership. It was no secret who was the leader and he hoped that he would be able to recognise him. He could remember her from all those years ago even when they only spoke to one another for a few moments her name was eventually echoed throughout the streets and he knew her name was no mistake nor a coincidence. She was to have a great destiny. Someone to be remembered. She just had no idea what for. He just knew he had to take her place. He could see it, so that she could pursue her real destiny.

He just hoped that they wouldn't laugh in his face. He hated being laughed at especially at such a time and when he was on such a mission. He could imagine the idea of recruited an old-ish man such as himself would be a laughable idea. But it was what he had to do. He just hoped that he would be able to convince them that a sage would be able to serve them quite well, though they may not even know what a sage even is. Ever since Baron Praxis came to power and openly rejected the use of the monastery which resulted in a crippled reputation of any man who dedicated their lives to the Precursors. Faith amongst the citizens of Haven City even began to subside. They figured since all these horrible things had happened to them it seemed illogical for there to be a higher power watching over them and their best interests. Since sages weren't very well known they were always associated with religion rather than being viewed as what they were which was something between science and religion.

He turned on the last right as he had been instructed and walked right to the end of the street. He glanced at the door and knocked waiting for an answer. There was no immediate reply and he didn't expect there to be either but after waiting for five minutes he was starting to get annoyed and banged on the door.

He was making such a racket that the man living next door appeared and stepped out his doorway.

"Hey! Hey! Take it easy pal."

"Well wouldn't you be a little ticked off if someone refused to answer the door. I mean they're basically laughing at me."

The man glanced at Samos then at the door. "Sir do you think you've got the right place. I mean where do you need to-"

"I know perfectly well this is the headquarters of the undergr-" The neighbour covered his mouth to stop him from finishing his sentence

"Quiet! That isn't something you should be shouting in the street about." He hissed. "Anyway what do you want with them? You're not joining them are you?"

Samos was able to slip out of his grip and flung his arms at him. "None of that is your concern young man. I want to know where they are now."

"I don't know. They're not always there. Listen you shouldn't be going round with them anyway. I know you may want to help but what they're doing is very dangerous and you're likely to get yourself killed."

Samos glared at him hoping that he wasn't going to be receiving the same response from the former Lady Auroalis. His whole life he had been told about his limitations rather than what he should be rising above. He could remember being the weakest of the group of homeless, parentless children in the orphanage he grew up in. It was a miracle that a sage came along and noticed his potential otherwise goodness knows what may have happened to him. He could be anywhere by now. He could even be dead if Kieran hadn't found him. He shook his head not wanting to think about that. There was no point thinking about the possibilities that never came to be. And there was no point standing here and wasting his time. He was going to Onin, she would know where to find her.

"Never mind." He muttered and walked away.

~ (***) ~

Annie took Nik back to her house knowing that they probably had nowhere else to go and that it would be best for both of them to lay low for a while. For the whole time it took for them to get there Nik was silent. As they walked through the sewers, when they returned to open air and walked through the streets and down the alley ways into the Bazaar not one word was exchanged between the two. She didn't bother to talk knowing that it would eventually become awkward if she tried. Also after their previous discussion she was unsure whether it would be appropriate for her to say anything to him. She wasn't even sure whether she should be letting him come to her house.

Although she was sure Nik would want to see Oz and Tess being the legal guardian and everything. Technically, it would Aella who would become their legal guardian however the problem with that would be that she would be unable to provide a proper childhood and also if it was found out who was their guardian she would be easily tracked down and arrested.

She walked through the darkened doorway and lifted a sheet that was flapping their faces. Someone glanced outside their door as they passed by probably thinking that Nik was her older boyfriend or someone who was here to collect the children in her apartment.

She rolled her eyes and unlocked the door before giving it a good shove with her shoulder. She glanced over her shoulder.

"It's a bit stiff." She explained, breaking the silence between the two.

"I could fix it for you." He offered.

"No that's okay. Oz! Tess!"

The two blonde haired youth peered round a door into the bedroom and ran towards Nik with their arms outstretched.

"Nik!"

He smiled weakly as he returned their hugs. "Hey you guys. You alright? How have you been?"

Tess went into the other room resisting the idea of rolling her eyes. _What a question to ask them. _It was pretty obvious that they weren't doing well and it was more importantly, a question he should be asking himself rather than the kids. Also it had been so long since she had the picturesque, happy family life now it seemed like a fairy-tale and a cliché everyone was running after. Although she knew she shouldn't be too judgemental since he was trying to put on a brave face for the kids. He was doing much better than she would be doing if she were in his situation. She would probably dump them with the best person she knew and never see them again and carry on her work with the Underground. He was at least doing that rather than coming across as catatonic as he was towards everyone else.

She waited inside the other room while he talked to the kids. She didn't want to intrude upon this 'special' little moment. She wanted to give them their privacy. She was just the person giving them a room, she wasn't remotely close to being a friend of the family or a part of their family. Also being around children always made her feel a little bit uncomfortable. Even before her parents died she couldn't imagine herself as a mother. She was surprised at herself for bringing them home with her but Barack wasn't there and she knew any sensible person in that situation would know that they shouldn't be left in the hands with someone like Nik considering the emotions he was dragging himself through. It wasn't exactly a healthy atmosphere for a couple of kids who had lost someone who had looked after and cared for them. If anything, it was worse for them than it ever would be for Nik. He had been through this before with his own mother so this wasn't the first time he had lost someone. He had been through this before, so knew he would be able to get through it. Oz and Tess didn't even know what the first step they should take towards getting through their grief.

There was a knock on the door which made her jump and turned around to see Nik poking his head through the door.

"Hey." He whispered. "I put the kids to bed."

She gave him a blank look as if to say '_Why are you telling me this? You're their guardian' _and shrugged her shoulders.

"Alright."

"Listen, I want to talk about what happened earlier."

"There's nothing to talk about. I don't know the first thing about what you're feeling. People get through their five stages of grief and respond to these situations in different ways. So-"

"You were right, Annie. I was trying to hide away in my grief rather than talking to anyone about it and even without thinking about Tess and Oz. No let me finish. I haven't even thought about how I'm going to look after them. I mean I can't imagine being able to juggle a life as a guardian with being a leader of the Underground."

"We'll be able to figure something out."

"We'll have to hope that Aella gets back soon because these guys need someone right now and that's going to be me because I know Aella isn't going to respond to this any better than I have."

Annie pressed her lips together and gave him a tight smile. "You're too good to be her brother you know that right?"

He laughed. "Yeah. I know."


	11. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Jak and Daxter and I do not own Going Out of My Mind by Amy Studt.

**A/S: **Hey guys! Really sorry for the long wait. The reason for this is because I have a lot of re-editing to do with some of my past and current stories just because I used to be quite lazy with submitting them and that has always been my greatest struggle as a writer as well so I've just been checking over them and things like that. I've even been adding some extra plot lines to some of them which will be confusing to some people I must admit but still. Anyway I haven't been doing that with this story as well so it was a complete and utter waste of time with me telling you that but I just felt I had to explain myself considering the long wait that you've had in receiving this update. Anyway here you are and I hope you will enjoy it.

Chapter Ten

For **october violet**

_Hey you, its me again._

_I tried to call yesterday._

_And the words I had,_

_To say to you,_

_Somehow they all slipped away._

_Please talk to me,_

_Whatever is wrong._

_You know I'd help you out._

_How will I know,_

_If you won't say,_

_What this silence is about?_

_Cos I'm going out of my mind,_

_And I don't think it's fair._

_Just when things seemed to be fine,_

_You changed then didn't care._

_Cos the least you could do,_

_Is to talk this through_

_And I'm going out of my mind,_

_Over you._

_Hey you, you haven't called._

_I guess you're still busy._

_Guess I think more of you,_

_Than you do of me._

_And that's not how I want it to be_

_Going Out of My Mind, False Smiles, Amy Studt_

~ (***) ~

_I remember that day, I look back on that day and I knew that was the moment that destiny was giving me my wake up call. It was telling me that it had enough of me trying to dance around it and it wanted me to start negotiating. To start co-operating with its demands. This is the thing about destiny, they don't request. They demand._

_When I heard that one word begin uttered to me, I knew what was going to happen next and I knew it was something I was never going to stop. It was all going to hit me like a speeding train which would never stop once me and it collided and it would still carry on. With or without be stuck to the front of it. Destiny isn't fair. It makes you do things it doesn't want to you. It makes you have to make a compromise with what you want opposed to what you really need. It's not fair but that is the life of a chosen one, my dear. I wish I could have been able to see an easier life for you. But that was never meant to be. None of this should have happened to us, but it did._

_I don't understand, why I am still trying to figure that out but it happened. There is nothing we can do to stop its train._

_All it takes it one word for me to know that destiny was calling me. It doesn't take very much and of course, darling you know this. This is how the world works. It's cruel and we would all rather be doing something else but it just doesn't work that way unfortunately. It's not fair but that is the way life is._

~ (***) ~

Aella shook at the mention of the place. She knew as soon as she left she vowed never to return but she knew one day she would have to go back one day if her destiny as a mother of the saviour of the world was to be fulfilled. She still hated Damas for the greatest betrayal he could have ever committed not just against her but against his own people. Aella sat there wondering whether she should strangle this girl but the least she could do was restrain herself from attacking her. Then she remembered that she had nothing to do with the fact that she was feeling a little bit angry about this news. Of all places for her father to be, it had to be in Spargus. She sat there looking at little bit uncomfortable and Seem could see that. She felt a little bit bad but she was also confused as to why she looked so frustrated. She wondered what it was considering what she had heard about the city itself. She would be right at home in some cases. Even though there weren't many warrior monks left but she was sure that she would be able to re-establish that practice. She also heard that she was good friends with the new King as well. No one knew this unless you were living outside of Haven City but Damas had not been killed by the metal-head leader nor did he perish in the desert. He became the heir and now the King of Spargus. Only time would tell if he was a worthy King of such a kingdom.

"Aella are you okay?" Seem asked shakily.

Aella slowly looked up and nodded. "Yeah. It's just the last time I was there was...Eventful to say the least."

Seem leaned forward with a sympathetic look on her face. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"

Aella was quiet for a moment and shook her head. "No." She got to her feet and turned around and looked as if she was going to walk away.

"Are you leaving?"

She looked over her shoulder. "Looks that way."

"You're coming back aren't you?" She asked worriedly.

Aella took in a deep breath. Deep down she really didn't want to come back but the look in that girls eye was beginning to soften her a little bit. She also knew that deep down she needed to go back. She needed to come back because she knew that she couldn't stay here forever. She was going to get someone killed one day. She could feel it in her bones. She didn't know why, she just did. She had to be ready to accept the fact that she just had to do some things which were the hardest things to do in that situation. This time she wasn't going to answer but she did cast a reassuring smile over her shoulder.

~ (***) ~

Samos had never been treated so badly in his entire life. He had been given more respect by lesser people than them but they seemed to see it fit to laugh in his face and treat him like a feeble, senile old man. He wasn't looking back for his age either...He had to find the leader of the Underground, not those mere henchmen of the Shadow. That was what they were calling the leader. Everyone knew who it really was but then others were saying that it was Lord Moran. Others said it was really Damas. No one could really make up their minds so they decided to give the leader a name which wasn't indicating to their gender, title, rank or anything such. But the effect they had on the city. They were like a great shadow cast across the city signifying the dark age they were in as a result of Praxis' rule. He thought that as one of the last eco sages that he would be given at least a little bit of respect but no. They had no idea what they were facing and they didn't know that they needed more than muscle to help them. He knew that in this time of crisis there was only one person he could turn to. He immediately wandered off to the Bazaar district and went to talk to Onin. Even if he had to talk to that tedious parrot-monkey creature of hers, Pecker. That was a face that he would certainly take to his deathbed...

He made his way into the tent and knew at any moment...

"Samos! It's wonderful to see you again!"

The feather brain himself was flying about in his face as he always did as soon as he stepped foot into Onin's domain. He waved his hand in front of his face and brushed him away.

"I need to speak with Onin." He replied firmly.

"Well if you have to speak to Onin you have to speak through me. Unless you understand her sign language."

"I think we both know that I am knowledgeable amongst many things, Pecker." Samos replied in an impatient tone.

Pecker narrowed his eyes at him. "Very well but don't come crying to me if she starts signing to quickly." And with that he left he tent. Thank goodness...

"Onin I came here on a very urgent matter."

_I know...I worry for the life of the child also...I also think about her...She is becoming so stubborn...I wonder why the Precursors chose her..._

Samos frowned. "Onin, what are you talking about? Who is she?"

_You have met her before...She worked for the King...The true King of Haven City...If everything went according to plan she would have had his child...She is still fighting against her destiny..._

"You mean Damas? Damas has a wife? And has a child by him? How is this possible? I thought he was dead?"

_No...He is King of a foreign kingdom now...There is still a chance...She had done her part for the Underground now...She needs to set forth on her quest...Before its too late..._

"Underground...Wait..." His eyes widened in realisation. "Not her. She is to have the son of Damas? But why is that so important?"

_Because their child will be the only one who will save this world...and you are the one who will be able to set her on this quest..._

"I don't understand. Why me?"

_Because you will become the next leader of the Underground..._

~ (***) ~

"You just think you're better than everyone else don't you?" Said a voice behind her.

Aella looked over her shoulder to find Yumi standing there at the entrance. Aella had her hoverboard tucked under her arm and was about to jump onto it. She knew that the journey back to the city was going to be easier than the journey here since it would all be down-hill.

"Do you have a problem or something?"

"You think that you can just wander in and then wander out of here? When you haven't even had the curtesy to-"

"That's enough, Yumi." Said a stern voice.

Metrodona emerged out the shadows and approached them. Both the girls cast their eyes to the ground. Yumi because she had just been scolded for her behaviour and Aella out of shame for the fact that she never said goodbye to the woman who welcomed her openly and with hospitality.

"I'm sorry. I just can't stay here any longer. I have to go back but I promise-"

"I know. I just need to give you something before you leave. Or the Precursors do..."

Aella frowned at her. "What?"

Metrodona nodded towards the door. "Follow me."

Aella narrowed her eyes suspiciously but followed her anyway. Instead of taking her back into the temple she took her through the jungle trees. The plants stung at her legs and leafs brushed against her cheeks. She didn't take her very far but it took them about fifteen or twenty minutes to reach their destination. When Metrodona moved aside a branch there was a great statue hiding behind it. It had huge eyes lit up as soon as she stepped forward. It had a long nose almost like an elephant and looked like it was sitting down like a dog.

**Greetings, Oracle.**

Aella's eyes widened. She knew that voice. "It's-"

**We have been waiting for you. Listen to me. Do not be afraid of your destiny. It will soon be too late unless you bring the child into the world soon.**

"Look I know. I've seen it. It's just- I don't understand this power very well and I'm not exactly on the best of terms with the father right now."

**All is still on course. Have no fear.**

"Look you're not exactly making it easy-"

**Which is why you were brought here. We will give you a gift, something which will develop your powers of the seeing.**

"Into the future." She added in a sneering voice.

**It is not always about seeing into the future. There is also the past to consider and many more things which are not always seen by the naked, mortal eye.**

"What are you talking about?"

Before she knew it she was being zapped by some beam of white light and she felt like she was being purified and washed away clean of all the dirty things she ate, drank, thought, felt. Everything. When it was finished she was thrown to the ground and felt funny in the head for a while. She looked around and was murmuring something to herself. She saw a figure above her but it was fuzzy.

"Aella?"

Aella sat up and rubbed her head. "I have to go."

She rushed to her feet and picked up her hoverboard running through the trees. "Aella you are in no position to get on that-"

"I don't care Metrodona I'm getting back to the city." She called over her shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll come back I promise!"

~ (***) ~

She couldn't stand it. She needed to get out of here. She was going to kill someone one day. She might even kill herself. No. She couldn't do that. He would want that. He would be rid of her forever if she did that. She was going to torment him for as long as she could. After what he had done to this city he deserved to at least have a little bit of a taster of what he was doing to the people he was supposed to be protecting. She knew now that she was never going to get out of this place. Not as long as he was still alive...She knew what she had to do now. She had to kill him. The moment he came into this room she had to have something ready. A weapon. No. She was really going mad now. She had to stay sane. She knew she had to. For Ashelin. She had to stay around for her. She couldn't leave her with her with her father. Cortensa was getting more restless as the days went by. She hated it. She hated being locked away in this room. This was what was making her lose her mind. She thought she was never going to get out of this place so she was resorting to her only options left but she knew this wasn't the way to go about it. She hated the fact that her husband hid her away but he claimed that she would get overexcited if she let back into society again. She just wanted to kill someone in this place. She swore if there was anyone to come in here she was probably going to kill them...

She heard someone come into the room and she panicked.

_It was him...He was coming in and...What if he was here to kill her...? He always talked about doing that..._

She looked around for something to defend herself with. She was going to defend herself. She was going to defend the city. She knew she would be saving a lot of lives if she did this. She looked around for something and her hands found a pair of scissors. She held them out in front of her with shaking hands and then rushed behind the door. As soon as the door opened she struck the figure with her scissors. The cries of two women echoes throughout the room and was put to silence when the maid fell to the floor. She stared at the dead woman on the floor and the blood which spread across the floor.

"Oh...Oh forgive me." She whimpered.

"What happened?"

She looked up and saw her husband cast a shadow across her. He looked down at the mess and cried out the guards to come and collect the body. There was so much chaos in her room but she ignored it all. She just stared at the woman for the entire time. Then when she was gone she travelled to her husbands gaze.

"You did this."

"You did this." She snapped. "If you hadn't locked me in here..."

"Cortensa you have gone mad." He reasoned.

"YOU HAVE MADE ME MAD!" She screamed. "YOU LOCK ME IN HERE DAY AND NIGHT!"

"You're hysterical as long as I lived you will never leave this room again!" He roared and left the room knowing that she was never going to be let free again...

~ (***) ~

Damas was sat in the throne room wondering what would be the best course of action. His scouts had told him that Aella was leaving the temple now. It would be the perfect time to catch her on unawares. It sounded like he was abducting her but he knew it was going to be the only way to get her attention. Funnily enough it was the only way to get that woman's attention...

"You wanted to speak to me, your Majesty?"

He looked up and saw a familiar, tall, broad chested man. He was rather of the fat side to be more precise and had bleached blonde hair was beginning to fall out of his head. He was always a rough speaking man as well but to the point. This was something Damas liked in a person...

"Yes. Kleiver is it?"

He nodded. "Yes, my Lord."

"I would like you to go out into the wastelands with Sig to retrieve something for me."

Kleiver raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? Well it just happens to be my speciality to find things, your Majesty..."

~ (***) ~

Nik didn't know what he would do without her. She was amazing with kids it was almost surreal. It was like she could cast a spell on them and suddenly they would just drift off to sleep. He could never do that with Tess or Oz. Even when he was babysitting when he was a teenager. He could never get to to just go to sleep. It was insane. However Annie just seemed to have the touch. There was something always caring about her. Maybe there was something which told him that there might be another reason why she was helping him so much.

She walked him out of her apartment one night after he came over to see her. She hadn't been coming in so often since she was looking after the kids and since he didn't mind since he was running things he was okay with it.

"So...Are you sure you're okay with them staying with me?"

Nik scoffed. "Trust me, they're a Hell of a lot better off with you than they are with me."

She giggled. "But they need you, Nik. Even though you come to them more than you should be if you're running things then...I don't know. I'm just glad you're okay."

He smiled a little and nodded. "Yeah."

She looked up at him for a moment. Quietly. Without making a sound. "You know you can talk to me about anything don't you?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I just...I don't understand why she's not here. I mean I cannot imagine where else she could be. It just doesn't make any sense to me."

"I know."

"And you're right they do need someone. They need her. They always did."

~ (***) ~

Aella was travelling across the plains as fast as she could knowing that it was getting dark and she needed to be home soon. It was always worse when it got dark. She would need to put a light on which would attract the metal-heads more than when it was during the day. They seemed to come out at night a lot more often now. She was sure for a moment she saw a flash or something but decided to ignore it. She pressed on the accelerator function and sped up a little with the wind rushing through her hair. She heard something driving up behind her but decided to ignore it. It was probably raiders or something. She glanced over her shoulder and saw that it was literally right on her tail. She skidded to the side and went around a huge rock to see if she could lose it by crashing into it. She looked over her shoulder again and saw that it was still there. She cursed under her breath and carried on down and tried to figure out another way. Then when she was about to think of another idea she saw something flash in front of her vision.

_No...Not now..._

_There was a man in front of her. He looked like he was in his early twenties. Tall-ish, blonde haired, blue eyes. There was something familiar about..._

He drove right into the back of her and she flipped over the car and there was a moment when everything went static. She lost the hoverboard and she knew that she was going to crash back onto the ground where she would fall unconscious and probably into another vision...

Kleiver got out the car and walked up the woman. He peered down at her and growled. He knelt down and felt her pulse. Still alive.

"Thank, Precursors." He muttered.


	12. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Jak and Daxter and I do not own Going Out of my Mind by Amy Studt.

Chapter Eleven

For **Gentle Breezes**

_**I have spent my life searching for the answers my father and his father's fathers failed to find.**_

_**...Who were the Precursors?**_

_Is that Samos? The sage? What has he to do with any of this? I have seen him before. Why am I seeing him all the time? Is he someone who's going to be important in the future? Is he going to be working with us in the Underground?_

**Listen, child.**

_**What was their purpose? Why did they vanish?**_

_Is that all I'm to see for now?_

**Yes...For now.**

_You're all about the suspense aren't you._

**I see your powers are coming to you naturally now.**

_What do you mean?_

**You never heard or could talk to us this easily. You're speaking to us as if we were in the same dimension as you. You cannot just see now child, you can hear the voices beyond that of the present or of the space you inhabit.**

_What do you mean? You need to start being a little bit clearer with me. All of this I've been having to put up with is getting annoying now._

**We have no control over what you're seeing and hearing. These are things which come to you. Your mind has now become open to all which is unseen or unheard by the blinded eye and the deaf ear. We don't have time to explain this to you. We don't want to be found...**

~ (***) ~

She beginning to get more and more worried about Nik. She was watching the days go by and she knew the longer Aella was away the more worse Nik was going to get. His visits to see Tess and Oz were getting even less. She knew Aella was going to get back but people were beginning to wonder whether Aella was even alive. Nik told her that she had went out into the wastelands and hadn't come back yet. No one returned from the Wastelands alive. She wasn't even sure someone as tough as Aella would be able to return but Nik seemed determined to believe that she would come back. Annie watched Nik as he looked over the maps and ordered everyone about. They had gained more people since Aella had left but Nik was still rejecting a few thinking that Aella would never accept them into the Underground. The old guy and the tattooed ex-KG officer had been bothering them so often now she was tempted to let them in. Or at least speak to them about why they were being so persistent in wanting to join the Underground. Annie knew with Aella's powers she would considered the old guy, at least. She was sure that she could test them out for their use and loyalty if she gave them a little job to make sure that they could be trusted. Nik was just refusing to see them, which she couldn't blame them for but she could tell there was something about both of them. If Aella was here she would have at least talked to them...

"You look worried." Barack noted. "That's a very rare sight."

"Aren't you?" She retorted. "Look at him, Barack. He's going crazy. He's going to make himself ill."

She turned back to Nik and saw that he had bags under his eyes. He looked like he hadn't been sleeping for months opposed to weeks. He hadn't washed himself in weeks. He hadn't eaten for days. She was able to tell all these things just by looking at him.

"What can we say to him though, Annie?"

"I don't know. Tell him to calm down. Perhaps one of us can go out to find, Aella? That's the only way to give this guy a break. He's only doing this for her. I know the moment she comes back I'll be giving her a knuckle sandwich."

"Ok first, I won't let you go out into the wastelands. It's too dangerous and you have to look after the kids. Second, Nik's only doing what he's doing because he's the one who has been left with this job. Thirdly, you punching her in the face is not going to help and that's a terrible joke as well."

"Hey!" She protested.

"What's going on over there?" Nik demanded.

Annie looked away feeling a little bit guilty for all this. Any look he cast in her direction which looked like he had been slightly provoked by the smallest thing that she did. She didn't want to be provoking him when he was in the position that he was in.

"Nothing." Barack and Annie replied in unison. Barack turned back to Annie and gave her a serious look.

"Promise me you won't do anything stupid." Barack warned.

Annie folded her arms and cast her eyes to the ground. "Sure." She mumbled.

~ (***) ~

Torn knew how to get into the city without setting off any of the alarms. He knew if he was seen on sight then they might as well throw him into prison. When someone resigned from the KG it was more or less an act of anarchy. Thank goodness he didn't have any family left. After his father died he only had his mother left and she had died a couple of years ago as a result of an epidemic which went around. He was sure more than anything that the Baron had something to do with it since he had heard that the source had come from the water supply.

He climbed up the balcony and swung his legs over the side and walked through the door, brushing aside the flowing curtains. He looked around the room which seemed deserted. He smirked still finding amusing that a tough-as-nails woman such as Ashelin was living in such glamorous quarters. He knew her well enough to know that she would be content with staying in atypical apartment in the slums. She was more about the practical rather than the comfort. She had sat out in the gates for hours on end once...

"Ashelin?" He whispered.

"Torn. I'm glad you're here." She breathed. "I had to see someone..."

"What happened?"

"He's locked away my mother. Permanently. She attacked a servant. She was probably just scared. If I was married to someone like my father and if I had been locked away like that..."

He nodded. "I know." He replied putting a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure everything will be fine."

"For once, Torn...Could you actually be honest with me rather than say something you think I want to hear?"

~ (***) ~

When Aella came to wondering how the hell she got back to this room. It took her a moment or two to not only realise that she wasn't dead but she had been returned to the place where she swore she would never return to, despite the plans of the Precursors. They could at least allow her to make a solemn vow which destiny dictated she would eventually break. She swore the moment she came face to face with one of them she was going to throw a punch square in the face of one of them. She would probably be sent to Hell for it but she knew it would feel good. She looked around the room and she felt her blood boil. She recognised it in an instant. She woke up here the last time she had feel unconscious in the wastelands due to a hit to the head, funnily enough due to flying through the air and then going downwards. Shame the Precursors didn't give her a more practical and less annoying 'gift' like flight. She swung her legs around and walked around. She was sure that Damas was going to pop out of nowhere considering that he lived here and was probably responsible for her being here and run over. She swear she was going to kill him even if used to be the King of Haven City and was probably the new King of Spargus. Word had been that his Grandfather passed away quite recently.

She had to admit there was a small part of her which felt sorry for Damas. It was hard losing someone you cared about. She had lost many friends over the years, before or after she became a fugitive. She tried to hide it but she knew deep down it was like a stab to the heart every time she lost someone she cared about at least a little bit. She never had anyone to lose other than her mother and she probably didn't as much to her as Damas's Grandfather meant to him despite the little time they spent together. Then again if she amalgamated all the time she spent with her mother and calculated the amount of time Damas probably spent with his Grandfather was probably considerably more time than when she spent with Lynder. She could see why he would love him more than anyone. Possibly as much as he loved him mother, considering he was the last surviving relative to him other than his sister but she doubted he had seen much of her. She couldn't help wondering whether he would mourn her death...

She heard someone chuckle behind her and spun round to find Damas leaning against the wall covering his mouth.

"You always did pace like a Yakow when you were angry."

"Ohhhh you have no idea how pissed I am right now, Damas." She threatened.

"And before you were always so careful with how you referred to me let alone how you talked to me." He murmured.

She cast her eyes to the ground due to old habits but then remembered that he was no longer her King. Technically she didn't have any King to swear allegiance to...

"Well that was a time when you were King of Haven City. Now, you're someone who means more than nothing to me." She snapped.

For a moment she was sure that Damas looked a little hurt by this but he made many years of practising in hiding his emotions and just scowled at her.

"That's a very good way of saying thank you."

She didn't want to thank him for anything, knowing that he was responsible for her being here in Sparagus again.

"I was run over and I'm sure that I can make a good guess as to who paid the guy who almost killed me." She replied sternly.

"It's not my fault, Kleiver is a bit clumsy with his retrieval of what I request him to get for me."

"What am I? Some parcel which has been long overdue?" She teased.

"I suppose that's one way of describing you."

She felt like someone had been strangling her to the point of death and released her just in time for her to reclaim the oxygen needed for her to continue breathing.

She scowled. "Thanks."

~ (***) ~

Annie knew she had to do this. It was the only way she would be able to to save the Underground and save Nik's sanity. He was going to snap one of these days and where was that going to leave the Underground? Where was that going to leave the city? She knew that this was where they were all here. Some people were here as Damas Loyalists. Others were here because they lost someone who were left without a family as a result of Praxis' rule. It was either that reason or the other. It was a dark night. There was thunder echoing throughout the streets and lightening flashing across the plains.

"Where are we going Annie?" Tess asked nervously.

"You're going to be staying somewhere else for a while. I need to do something and I can't leave you all alone at my apartment."

"I'm thirteen!" Oz protested.

She had to admit Oz had grown up quite a bit since they first met. Especially since recently. He had grown at least a few inchs taller but was still shorter than Annie and she was only five foot five which in comparison to many of the other members of the Underground.

She patted his head. "I know. I just got to make sure that you're safe and I've got to do something for the Underground. Something which not even Nik can know about."

Oz grimaced. "I'm sure Nik wouldn't notice if we stayed at your place anyway. He hardly comes to see us any more."

She put a hand on his shoulder and smiled reassuringly. "Listen, once I get back everything will...almost be back to the way things once were."

"Annie!" Pecker was flying about her head. "I thought you would never arrive. Are these the children?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Ok guys be nice to the old lady ok? I'll be back as soon as possible."

"You better." Oz retorted.

Tess wrapped her little arms around her neck. "Come back."

"I promise."


	13. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Jak and Daxter and I do not own Going Out of my Mind by Amy Studt.

**A/S: **Hi! I know I haven't updated in a while and I'm really really really really really really really sorry.

Chapter Twelve

For **Ecomaddness**

The sun rose the morning after. She watched the sunset and watched the golden sands rise from behind the mountains and the sun burned as if calling out to her. She could almost hear it sing to her as it sizzled against the surface of the planet. She let the warm, fur blankets slip off her shoulders and walked out to the horizon as she was stared out into the distance not realising that she had nothing on. They never gave her anything to sleep in. Aella looked out the balcony in the room which she had been given wondering if he was trying to chide, insult or tease her about what she could have had. From the looks of things, this seemed like a rather luxurious room. She wasn't allowed to forget the fact that it was a gift which she should thank _him _for. Although it just made her hate him more. She tightened her fist that her knuckles went white. She gripped onto the side of the building and felt her blood boil every moment she was there. She stared out into the distance again, she started to damn it. She hated who it illuminate her mind and made her fall in love with the mountains. She hated how it made her feel. She wanted to rip him apart for the way that he was treating her. She was living in luxury at the moment but thinking about the people who were living in shit-holes back in Haven City made her shudder at the thought of her being here. It was almost like a betrayal.

She just wished she could know why he had left. He had always been able to talk to her about anything. They told one another everything, they were closer than any married couple she knew. Yet he couldn't tell her the one thing which meant the most to her. She served the King of Haven City. Not of Spargus. She didn't know what it was about him but he brought out the fire in her which she could never control. Not only did she feel a light inside her, she also felt a burning fire which was threatening to engulf everyone close to her. He always had this effect on her which made her want to scream. She wanted to rip her hair out but at the same time she wanted to re-live that last night that they had with one another as well. She brought her hands slowly to her lips and her hands shook. She could still feel that burning there, on her skin, in those secret places. She snatched her hand away and cleared her mind of such things. Now he was being even worse he was before...He was behaving like his behaviour was completely and utterly acceptable and referring to her as a parcel as was just...it made her out to be some kind of whore or something. He knew of her origins, of her mother, so surely he should know that there was nothing which would hurt her more than that...

"My Lady..."

A girl no older than eighteen with dark hair came in her room. Aella rushed to her bed and took one of the blankets to wrap around herself. Although the girl either didn't seem to notice or didn't care of her lack of clothing looked at her wordlessly until she had re-arranged herself.

"I came here to inform you that the King will meet you in the arena." She finished.

Aella frowned. "I'm sorry what?"

The girl looked at her again as if she was a child who had difficulty understanding what was being asked of them. Or that they were speaking a completely different language.

"You are to have a battle in the arena. I will bring in your armour."

_Oh Damas you shi-_

~ (***) ~

Annie leaned forward and sped up as she passed through the deserts of the wastelands. She was beginning to see how it got its name. There was nothing out here. Everything was practically dead out here. She sighed wondering if she was going to find anything out here. Although she knew she shouldn't be wishing for that too much, bearing in mind that the Metal Heads were worse out here than the ones who got into the city or breached the city walls, but she had to hope that Aella was still out there somewhere.

Then out of nowhere something knocked her off her feet and jet board throwing her to the ground. "Damn Precursors!" She swore.

The fall caused a scrape against the side of her head and checked if she was bleeding. It was a worse scratch than one would get in the kitchen but in comparison to battle situations it was nothing. She glanced over her shoulder to see what it was and saw a golden jem glowing in the shadows a rock.

She gulped but knew she had to keep her cool. She got to her feet and reached out for the gun which she had tucked in her belt. It pressed against her back like a spear in the gut and her hand shook as soon as she felt the cold metal within her grasp.

"Come on, you ugly..." She said under her breathe and at that moment it pounced.

She swiftly brought it out of her belt and fired at it between the eyes bringing it instantly to its sudden death. She stepped forward hesitantly with the gun still pointed at it in case it was still alive. She kicked it and then jumped back but there was no movement.

She sighed and put it back in her belt only to hear a growling coming from behind her. She glanced around and saw that there was an entire herd of them surrounding her. She shook knowing that there was no way she had enough ammo but she was going to at least die trying. She began firing before they even attacked making sure everyone counted. Sometimes kicked and throwing punches in their faces. Aella had actually shown her some hand to hand combat knowing now why she actually did.

Eventually she ran out of ammo and saw there was at least three left. She glanced around for anything she could use as a weapon and dropped her gun. The first one threw her against the rock head first and in an instant the world turned dark...

~ (***) ~

The crowd greeted her with a great cheer for bloodshed, Aella was unsure whether it was for her to shed the blood or for her own blood to be split upon the battlefield. She looked around to see if there was anyone she would recognise or more like if Damas was to make an appearance. She craned her head back as she fiddled with the armour that she had been given. She looked more like a warrior than she did before the handmade armour, which had not been made out a metal. She never really wore any herself so she knew that if it was going to get close and personal it would be fine since she was used to fighting unprotected.

"NOW FOR OUR NEW ARRIVAL!" Screamed a voice which made her jump.

She glanced in the direction which it came from and saw that it was some public speaker with a ridiculous headdress on and a cape of some kind. She noticed that Damas was sitting in a throne less imposing the one back in Haven City, watching him with the same grimace as he did when he was speaking with Lord Moran. She smiled at the old memory but then reminded herself of the present situation that she was in.

"ONE WHO MUST PROVE HER WORTH TO STAY AMONG US AS A WARRIOR AND TRUE SPARGARIAN!"

The crowd cheered again, making her eyes roll, she wondered whether this man had got his job through his silver-tongue or because simply he was too ridiculous to give a bloody death. A man behind her pushed her forward with his spear and growled at her to keep going. She passed through metal gates onto a platform where when she glanced down she saw boiling lava below which made her skin crawl.

"YOU MUST COLLECT ALL THE TOKENS!"

She suddenly jumped into action when she saw that he had a sand dial and began to run over the platform collecting all the silver balls of light hovering above the ground. She launched herself forward and grabbed a row of them in and instant and turned right up a ladder onto the next platform. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Damas looking as passive as before and kept going. By the third platform she found herself sweating although not visible as she could suspect from the distance Damas was sitting from and saw that he was now leaning forward with a little more interest than before and was even smiling. When she got to the final stage she saw that there was only a few grains left and reached out for the last with a good handful of sand left in the timer followed by a cheer from the crowd. She saw another platform raise from the lava and stepped towards it tentatively and as soon as she was firmly on there raised to the another which stood before the ridiculous public speaker and...Damas. She sighed and waited until she took a step onto it and finally looked up to see that there was a familiar smirk on his face. She didn't know whether he was impressed or he merely expected this.

"Now..." He murmured, she raised an eyebrow wondering what he was going to say next. "I never saw you in actual battle, Aella. I just heard reports..." He leaned down and then threw a gun in her direction. "And I am greatly interested in seeing how you do rate against the living."

The platform suddenly moved backwards towards another platform even lower down, in fact it was floating on the lava and she jumped off seeing cages in the corners of men banging against the bars. She took a deep breath and placed her hand on the trigger.

"Here we go..." She murmured.

She closed her eyes and heard the cages open, the crowds cheering, the men screaming their battle cries and second later she threw blasts in every direction a man was running from throwing them backwards either into the lava or a few feet back but still came running. She kept going until she began to run out of ammo. She looked up and guessed that there only another couple of rounds left and there were still a good handful of men left intent on killing her. She quickly decided that instead of blasting them she was going to use her gun as a weapon. She launched forward towards a man who was close enough to throw into the fire but hitting him with the gun and threw a kick at another. She saw that the others were starting to form around her and had no choice but use the two remaining ammo and throwing a few into the lava but not enough. With six left she didn't know what to do but throw the gun aside and throw her fists at them. One knocked her on the side of her head throwing her to the ground but rolled over when another threw down a staff on her head. She jumped to her feet and when she saw another coming at her she grabbed them by the waist and threw them over her shoulder into the lava again. Three left. She was beginning to sweat and she was dangerously close to the lava. She could feel the heat on the back of her neck.

She glanced up at Damas who was smiling even more which made her blood boil. Was this how he was going to get back at her? By killing her? She wasn't going to take it. Not today and not ever. She clenched her fists and for some reason a curtain of lava, almost like a tidal wave arched over the arena and fell down upon the three remaining fighters burning their flesh. She looked down at her hands for a moment see a red aura around her hands. She frowned and felt herself drift away, but then again she always did...

~ (***) ~

_**Who awakens the oracle...Wait, one of you has the light within. From before time I have watched and waited for the true hero to return...**_

_**Beware of the dark light for it has twisted the fate of one of you...**_

_**...you were wrong...dark eco can be controlled...we've learned its secrets and we can re-shape the world...**_

_**Seek the pure light for within its flame the answers reside...**_

_**Light echo! It does exist!**_

_She felt herself float in the dark as she watched these images. She saw the statues left by the Precursors lying the ground or hovering in the air. Some were small the others were bigger than a cargo ship. She didn't know whether this was something which resided in the past or in her son's future but she tried to call out to him. As she always did..._

_Help...Speak to me..._

**What is it child?**

_What is this?_

**It is here to give you hope, that there is a light within you which will burn for a thousand years. There is a fire which will warm the earth for as long as it needs to be defended which you will reignite.**

_Aella tried to reach out to stay there a little longer but as always they were soon gone again..._


	14. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Jak and Daxter

Chapter Thirteen

For **Bandit-sama**

_The world is sleeping, but I'd rather be awake. _

_Hear the silence and what she's got to say. _

_All your sorrows let them drift away. _

_I get the feeling, that everything'll be okay._

_Come and embrace me, my sweet lullaby._

_Carry me away._

_Lost in the moment, don't want it to end._

_So I'm finding, you my waiting friend._

_Carry me far from my troubles tonight, _

_Bring me back safely, in the morning light._

_Carry me away._

_Softly, softly, as I close my eyes, _

_Come and embrace me, my sweet lullaby_

_~ Carry Me Away, Amy Studt, False Smiles_

~ (***) ~

_It's difficult to know when one is in love. It's easier to tell when you give your heart to another before you meet the love of your life. Although it is tragic when you discover that after you did. Sometimes you can be too frightened to give it away because you aren't sure that what you're feeling is either love or lust. Most of the time when you're young all you do feel is lust, it seems love is more reserved for the later years when you need a companion. It did always seem that those who were older were lonelier. It took me a while to realise that I was in love and quick to know when I wasn't. The older I got, my instinct upon that matter soon became sharper than it was when I first met Barack. That one experience was a little confusing, but the experience I had with your father was frightening. These emotions I felt were so violet I thought that they would rip me apart. Some nights I wondered whether I was dying or whether this was what it felt to be alive. It was a strange experience there was no doubt in my mind about that. However it frightened me so much at first that I ran away from that and in turn I was running away from my destiny. I always knew that there was more at stake of me doing that and ironically enough I always thought that the prospect of being in love was selfish but I was being selfish to the world for not allowing myself to love._

_There was one time when I went ahead and did it anyway because I merely wanted the comfort of another close to me. I missed that burning kiss that one experiences not only from a passionate lover but from someone who loves you just for who you are. It's an experience but once you give yourself to someone you care nothing for you suddenly realise how every time that you do it you're almost giving a part of yourself away to this person. All for a little moment of feeling desired and wanted. I almost became as bad as my mother. It's selfish but sometimes it's just what we want, isn't it? I did it at the expense of your father. He had hurt me so much because I hurt him I decided to hurt some more because I felt that we still weren't even. When really I was hurting him more than he was hurting me. He was toughening me up even more for the destiny which I had ahead. He wasn't tormenting or torturing me. He was helping me. I was just fighting against the world by myself and who can win a fight against such a vast, colossal foe? I was losing sight of everything at that point. When really in the game of love you need to know when the time to fight is over and the time for truth shall will forever remain constant. Some of us just want to run away from it once in a while. Sometimes people play games merely because it is easier than being kind to one another. No one wants to be the weaker link._

_I know that more than anyone, I spent my entire life proving myself stronger than most men._

_I was not the only one who was reluctant to admit to love either. My brother, also had a love, although he was too tied up in trying to pretend that he was as strong as I was to admit to it. He obsessed in his absence to the point where he almost drove his love away._

_Did you ever have this problem?_

_Or am I the only one?_

_Was there a point where you were too stubborn to admit your feelings to another?_

_Were you ever this foolish?_

_I was a fool in my case. I had always been a fool when it came to your father. I never thought about him but always thought about my feelings. What he was doing to me. As I said it brings out the most selfish side to us. I made so many mistakes, I walked so many times through the fire that I have forgotten how painful it is to get burned. The fire eventually no longer became a threat to me. It was just something which once lived in my imagination, like a monster under the bed. Then you grew up and realised there was nothing to fear. It drains it out of you. All of this fighting against what you really wanted. You were fighting against something which was a part of you, consumed you more than anything else you have ever felt. Sometimes you wonder when you meet the love of your life whether you have enough love left in you to give to another. Damas and I had our problems and our ups and downs but we eventually found one another once again. Even if our love was never destined to last at least we were luckier than the others who never got to tell one another how they felt..._

~ (***) ~

Babak found him in the usual place. He sighed and continued through into the entrance at sat down beside him. He didn't move, turn to time, or even greet. He just sat there. It was like he was brain dead or something. Annie was right, he had been working too hard. He needed to take a break and that was only going to happen if Aella came back and no one knew when that was going to be. Babak turned to him and saw in his eyes that he was thinking about somebody. He was always there day and night thinking about her. Which _her _was the question though. It could go either way to be honest. He cared about his sister more than anything when everyone knew that she was the one of the toughest or if not was the toughest woman in the city and that was including the Baron's daughter. Sometimes it was his sister, other times it may have been Annie. No one could really be sure. It was no secret that he cared for her a great deal. And by this her, he meant Annie. And it was no secret that she cared for him a great deal as well. She was threatening to go out into the waste lands for him for goodness sake. They were both behaving like they were still teenagers, he had younger nieces who were maturer than this when it came to their boyfriends. He could see him sometimes catching a glimpse of her if she walked past him sometimes, which was absolute confirmation of this despite his denial.

"Nik?" He asked hesitantly.

Nik blinked for a moment and turned to him slowly, he seemed to finally realise that someone was there.

"Babak." He said in a distant voice.

It was almost like he was calling out to the shadows but wasn't sure whether the person that was there was actually that person at all.

"Hello, old friend." He greeted brightly. "How is it in the land of the dead? Or the sleepless?"

He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "If Aella was able to do this without sleeping I'm sure I'm perfectly capable."

Babak folded his arms. "Aella slept Nik. She didn't look like she did but she always made sure that she got her sleep. You are taking this too far, you even drove Annie to going into the wastelands to go find your sister."

"What?" He didn't snap at him, or jump out of his chair. He seemed emotionless if anything.

Babak blinked and tried not to throw a punch at the boy. "Nik, I am only telling you this once. Wake. Up."

~ (***) ~

Annie came to with the stars staring down at her. She thought she was dead. She didn't know why but for some reason she thought she was going to die. She clenched her fist and felt sand rub in between her fingers. She felt the intense heat of a fire burning on the side of her face and out of the corner of her eye she saw a man humming to himself. All she could tell was that he was middle-aged and was tired. She tried to think about how she could have gotten here but before she could even have time to think about that for herself she groaned causing the man to cast a look in her direction.

"Ah...Hello there. I was wondering when you were going to wake up."

His voice was low and kind. It was also rough like a stone scraped against your skin...Stone...Skin. She slowly sat up with him supporting her on her back.

"That's it." He whispered. She touched her head but he snatched it away. "Don't touch it. It's still healing."

She slowly lowered her hand and watched him walk over to the other side of the fire and brought her a bowl of something which smelled delicious.

"Here...I'll help you..."

"I can feed myself thank you." She replied a little too quickly.

He nodded and then handed it to her. She rested the hot bowl in her lap and tried to bring the spoon to her mouth but her hands shook so much that she couldn't get it past her chest.

He raised an eyebrow. "Need some help?"

She gave him a look and finally consented. She allowed him to feed him for a while and even blow on her food for her. He held her head gently and looked over her as if she was a small child.

"Do you remember how you got here?" She shook her head wordlessly. "Do you remember why you were here?" She shook her head again. "Do you remember your name?"

She thought about this for a moment. "Annie."

"Annie." He repeated. "That's a lovely name. My name is Amos."

She frowned. "Amos?"

He nodded. "Yes. Amos."

She turned away with a smile on her face and then looked out onto the distance. There was a warm breeze there.

"I remember thinking I was going to die." She said quietly.

He glanced in the same direction as her and probably misunderstood what she was thinking about considering what he said next.

"Well not tonight. There will be no sand storms and no mauraders in this area. You're safe." He added intently looking into her eyes.

"How do you know?"

"Because I am a seer. I would know if we were in any danger."

She stared at him wide eyed. _Just like Aella...Wait, who is Aella? _Suddenly images flashed in her mind. There was handsome, tired looking young man. A man she loved. Nik. She went out into the desert. Aella. To find Aella. She was ambushed by the wasteland Metal Heads. She was thrown against something. Black. Then...Amos.

"Is something wrong?" He asked after he had noticed she had been quiet for a while.

She shook her head. "No." She said quietly. "No not really...Just remembering."

He nodded. "Good...Can you tell me what that is?"

She looked out again into the distance wondering if she was ever going to be able to find her. "I was looking for someone. A friend. She left but she's been gone for too long."

"You must really care for her." He replied. "To come out here to find her."

An image of Nik flashed in her mind and she smiled. "Yes. I suppose she does."


	15. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Jak and Daxter and I do not own Beautiful Lie by Amy Studt.

Chapter Fourteen

For **Gentle Breezes**

She glanced up at the sky and saw that night had come upon them. She watched the moon for a moment as if it was staring back at her. When she was a child she used to think that the Spirit of the Precursors lived in the moon and when it shone down on you it was the blessing of a Precursors. She went to their monastery when she was child and told them that she had been blessed by them on this basis. They shook their heads and told her that this wasn't the case but they were grateful for the offer. She went to the gate everyday, unwilling to give up on her belief and then one day she had a vision. It frightened her at first but they all praised the Precursors when this happened. They brought her in and told her that because of her devotion to her belief that they had finally gifted her with the vision of the future. From then on that was her life. She knew no other. She could not remember the one that she had before then any more. Still, she never stopped praying to the moon. Sometimes the murmuring of the priests distracted her or was never enough. She needed the silence of the moon. The silence always comforted her. It made her realise that she was never alone even though he had abandoned her. They all told her that prayer would allowed her to get through it. They all assured her that she would stop feeling the pain of his betrayal if she kept on being more devoted to the Precursors and also she might be able to redeem his sins as well if she felt up to it.

They all told her this as if one day he would be gone from her mind and that she would finally be at peace. She was never going to let him go. He was the love her life. She didn't want to admit to this but she had always loved him more than the Precursors. She remembered when they first met as children and for some reason she had a momentary vision. Light around his head and holding something made of light and he was looking down at it. A bundle of light? A child? From then she was more devoted to him to even the moon for a while. Not until he left. Then she returned to the moon. From then on she was to be dedicated to the moon for the rest of her days because of her own sin. Still, there was somewhere in her heart where she could never let him go. Not even when he seemed more than willing to let her go. He was more than willing to break his vows and leave her for that...that whore. When he left she went around asking after her, at first she thought it was at least someone with dignity or a fellow priestess but when she saw her...She shuddered at the memory of it. She could never understand why. Why her? Why not her?

"Metrodona?"

She opened her eyes and smiled. That familiar voice was always beckoning her... "Hello Photine."

The golden haired woman stepped forward with her arms folded. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

Metrodona chuckled. "You know more than anyone that our jobs are full time ones."

Photine raised her eyebrow knowing that she only meant that she was thinking about him. Whenever she thought about him she was always going out to pray and always in the middle of the night as well. She glanced up at the full moon and always thought that there was something about it which made Metrodona draw herself to it. She told her when they were little girls that she believed that was where the Precursors resided. Photine always thought that it was in the heavens but no one could ever be entirely sure. For all they knew they could be among them, in the Catacombs, they could be anywhere...

"Yes...that and there being another reason why you're out here...Some nights? You seemed to be a little stranger than usual when that girl came to stay with us..."

Metrodona remained quiet for some time. Photine could see she was wringing her hands which was something she only did when she was a little stressed or worried.

"It has nothing to do with that." She replied shakily. "There...There was nothing wrong with that girl. Nothing."

She was clawing into her own hands as if she was a patient in an asylum and she looked more tired than when she was recovering from Amos and more possessed than when she was having a vision.

Photine frowned. "I wasn't saying that, Metrodona. I was just saying that you were behaving a little differently than usual."

Metrodona folded her arms and tilted her head. "And what do you define as different or strange behaviour, Photine?"

Photine was quiet for a while trying to think of the best way to put it without offending her or trying to make it seem like she was trying to say something else.

When it finally occurred to her she looked up with an intent look in her eyes. "You were talking to her as if you were her mother."

Metrodona tried to stop herself from laughing and shrugged her shoulders. "I was just trying to welcome her here. She was intent of returning to the violence she was creating in Haven City."

Photine sighed and tried not to roll her eyes. "That's a little over the top, Metrodona. You're beginning to sound like Noma."

"Noma as a spoiled brat." She snapped. "And she may be a resistance fighter but for every one that sees her as a resistance fighter I'm sure there is another who sees her as a terrorist."

"So what you're trying to change her ways? You're trying to save her like you were unable to save Amos?" She demanded.

A split second later Photine felt the sensation of a sharp, stinging slap across her face and fell to the ground afterwards a silence weighed down on them. Despite being unable to look her in the eye Metrodona still continued.

"You have no right to say things like that to me." She said in a firm, but shaky voice. "You have no right to accuse me of those things. You have no idea of what I feel or what I think about constantly. You don't even stop to think for a second that I may care for you all. That it maybe the only-"

"Well we both know that's a lie don't we Metrodona?" She interrupted in an eerie voice. "I mean really, we both know that all you can think about is him and no matter how many prayers you recite, no matter how many times you come out here. We both know that you're never going to make him go away. And you can't. Because you love him and that's all there is to it."

Metrodona clutched onto something in the dark. She didn't know what it was and to be frank, Photine didn't really care. She knew that she came out here to escape from persecution but she didn't come out here to join her friend. She didn't even know whether she was still in there any more. Something was wrong with her. She wanted to know what it was but she knew that she was never going to admit to it. There was only one person she would ever really tell all those things to but he wasn't here to hear those things. He was far away somewhere, not that she blamed him...

"You can leave me now." She said icily.

Photine raised an eyebrow. "You're the one who needs rest."

"If I meant to dismiss I would have said that." She replied, matter-of-factly.

It took a moment to allow it to sink in and Photine tilted her head and smiled at her old friend strangely.

"You may have been appointed head priestess, Metrodona but you have no right to tell people to leave." Photine scoffed.

"Really? I wonder what everyone else would think of that."

"You would tell them a lie? Of course you would. Anything to keep face, anything to keep in power. It's funny. You say you're nothing like Noma. That she's a spoiled brat when really you're both just the same."

On that note, she left. She didn't even think about it, it was like she was waiting for her to say it. Metrodona thought she would at least stay until morning and then she would beg on her knees to stay. She was the one to follow her, not the other way round. She tried to convince her to come with her and Seem but Photine wanted to stay to show the rest of the city and the Baron that they weren't afraid of him, only a month later she was there asking for sanctuary. When she says 'asks', she means sanctuary. Yet, now she was watching her walk into the distance, down the trail which had been painted by the moonlight itself. She had nothing but the gown on her back. She didn't even have any shoes on her feet. As she watched her walk away she noticed that her blonde hair which sometimes looked white in the sunlight now looked like a beautiful silver. She didn't know why she was thinking about this. She almost looked like she was the...There was some strange sensation which was coursing through her at that moment. Panic rose in her chest and she felt a cry trying to escape from her chest but there was something holding her back. She didn't know what it could be but there was something telling her no. Let her go. She allowed that silent voice to take over her but with her cold hands left shaking in the wind.

There was something else telling her that she should run after her. She should be the one to beg on her knees, beg her to stay. There was something out there which was going to get her and she knew that it would be disastrous for them all if she left this sanctuary. Something which was telling her that she shouldn't let her go. Something frightening. She had made a mistake in telling her leave. She had grown too proud, she felt too destined for the role she was now carrying out. She thought that she might see a vision for a moment but nothing came. She shut her eyes tight like a little child wishing away a nightmare, begging the Precursors for a dream. She could hear herself in her head, out loud, soon she was howling to the moon to bring her a vision. Maybe it would wish away all these anxieties which she was having about her oldest friend's safety. She wanted something to tell her that everything was going to be alright. But she knew that this wasn't true. She glanced up at the sky and saw something glowing in the dark night sky. It wasn't the moon. It wasn't a star. It was something else. It was burning into the night sky almost if to set it alight. There was something about it which made her shake. Something bad was going to happen. Something terrible was coming to the world and it was going to set it on fire. Sometimes they never came, sometimes you were never meant to see it coming.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Jak and Daxter

Chapter Sixteen

For **Darth Melly**

_There's a sadness that they don't see,_

_When you come to me, with your sorrows._

_It's not enough for you to cry,_

_Cause you don't know why it still hurts._

_You don't have nothing but pride, to keep you alive_

_I can say it will be fine, it's a beautiful lie,_

_So please, don't leave it all up to me._

_Another self-ache behind locked doors,_

_But then nobody knows that something's wrong,_

_You made a cage that you cannot break,_

_I tried but I can't help at all._

_So please, don't leave it all up to me._

_I can feel you,_

_I can heal you,_

_I can help you._

_It's a beautiful lie, lost in silence, trapped by violence_

_I see the way they talk with you,_

_They're always trying to prove, that they are better._

_You run away cause you can't take,_

_The way they make you feel._

_~ Beautiful Lie, Amy Studt, False Smiles_

~ (***) ~

She sighed and waited until they opened the doors before she entered the throne room. She glanced at the two, well-built men stood silently by the door. They were like walls. They were a good six feet eight at least and were half as wide as they were tall. She shook a little from this but turned away not wanting to seem too intimidated by them. They had dressed Aella in a dress. In. A. Dress. She had never worn a dress. She always dressed practically. Not even when she was a child and now the first time was going to be humiliated like this and in front of a man she completely and utterly loathed.

_Although we both know that isn't true though, is it Aella? _Said a little voice in her head.

When the doors opened she clenched her fists and walked forward even before the man who had escorted her began walking. She had to admit at least it was fairly modest. It was a halter neck made of thin, floaty white material with blue flowers on it. Nothing too flashy but nothing too plain. To be honest she would rather wearing anything but this. This wasn't the first time she wore a dress though, now that she remembered, but the time at the temple didn't count since they probably didn't have anything else for her to wear.

Damas looked up and stared at her for a moment. He raised his eyebrows and slowly brought his hand to his mouth. He turned back to his advisor but he found it difficult to hide the smile behind his mouth and she could see that his shoulders were jumping up and down. He was enjoying every moment of this. She clenched her fists until they were white and waited for his meeting to come to its conclusion.

"Very good, Klevier. I think it would be best to trade the...smaller vehicles for...the eco..." He coughed trying to hide the fact that he was laughing.

'Klevier' who was built just like the men at the door glanced at who Damas was finding so amusing and saw her. He glanced between the two of them and the bowed to his King.

"Very good, my lord." He grumbled and plodded away sending a little rumbling about the castle as it seemed.

Damas waited until Kleiver and the ladies who had been waiting on her left. He nodded to the man who had escorted her there who seemed to be under the impression that he would also be here for this conference but took no offence and left. As soon as the doors were closed he barked with laughter. She sighed and waited until he was done.

"Are you finished?" She asked blinking with annoyance.

He tried to recover for a moment but he continued to laugh where she presumed that he thought she would eventually join in but she was too proud to allow herself to ridicule herself for his own entertainment.

"Well, I...I've not seen you in a dress before, its quite a new experience for me." He chuckled.

"Really? Experienced many women in pretty dresses?" She countered coldly.

His smile didn't falter but he stopped laughing. There was no offence taken, she could see it in his eyes but he turned away and for a moment it looked like he was thinking about the next thing he was going to say to her.

"There aren't many women like you." He said finally with a little warmth in his voice. "Surely you know that Aella?"

She looked down, obviously a little shaken by this, she would have thought that he would have snapped back but he didn't take the bait. He took the higher ground.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I wouldn't know. I don't tend to seek the company of women as often as a...king." She offered slyly.

He walked down the steps from the throne. "You did amazingly well in the arena today. Quite an effort. Even I thought for a moment I might lose you."

Her head shot back to him. "Lose me? Since when did you reclaim me? Oh wait I remember when that...Kleiver fellow..." She said remembering the name and realising that she had finally met the man who ran her over, which meant now that she knew what he looked like she could confront him. "...ran me over."

He raised his eyebrows. "Like I said, I'm not responsible for how Kleiver does things and as you can see he's not exactly the gentliest fellow either. All I hear from his 'wife' is about how he gives her endless grief and he's never really apologetic about it either. So I really wouldn't take it personally...He's just like that with women."

She stared at him in a way which made it obvious as to what she was thinking. That being what would be the best method of trying to kill him. He was trying to be apologetic about the whole affair when he was being as much as ass as he has been since she arrived. Why he thought this was the best method to use she had no idea. Unless he was brain dead.

"Was there a reason why you brought me here? Or was it just because you felt like being amused? Where's that public speaker of yours? I thought he would have sufficed as a decent jester."

He frowned. "Public...Oh, you mean the herald. Raldo. Amusing man, yes but tiring." He chuckled as if he was in on a personal joke.

She raised an eyebrow. "I'm still a little lost." She replied dully. He sighed. "Now, I think we both know that I rather despise being in your presence-"

"And there was once a time, where you always loved being with me." He returned. "You remember those times don't you, Aella?"

She rolled her eyes. "Are we going to get to the point? I'm getting bored."

He grunted. "Very well."

He reached down and threw something at her. She caught it with one hand and looked down at it and saw it was bronze coloured with a pink tinge and round with beautiful carvings in it.

"This is your first battle amulet. All citizens of Spargus receive this after they win the first battle before full citizenship of Spargus. I suppose you may have some use of this gun mod as well..."

She stepped forward and took the cold, metal instrument from his hand. For a moment he looked like he wanted to take a hold of her hand and never let it go.

"Thank you." She replied gratefully and she wasn't being sarcastic either. "I'm sure I'll find some use of this."

She knew he was doing this so she had something to defend herself with. She was also grateful since she would have something to use as a weapon during her escape from Spargus.

He chuckled. "I'm sure you will. There's never any sitting around in the wastelands, trust me. Even if you continue having your visions."

She folded her arms. "Last I remembered you liked to keep me from the action because of my visions."

"Well I have grown a little wiser since then, Aella. I haven't got the likes of Baron Praxis on my council." He sneered.

She looked down again realising that she had acted like an ass now. Although she wasn't going to let him know, it would give him an excuse to try again at pushing her into being queen.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?" She asked as politely and as formally as she could get away with without arousing suspicion on his part.

"Well...We are always on the lookout for new artefacts. I am a firm believer in preserving our heritage and you would be surprised by how much is left out in the wastelands. Either people think

it as 'junk' or it was simply mislaid."

She tried resisting rolling her eyes. Sometimes this was something Damas constantly banged on about. She knew he was proud of his heritage but there was no need for someone to bang on about it as much as he did. After all, she wasn't supposed to have a concern for the past...

She shrugged her shoulders. "Sure. Why not?"

He got to his feet with a bright smile on his face. "Excellent. I will tell Kleiver in the morning that you will be accompanying him on the mission. I just hope..." Now it was his turn to look down at the ground. "Just be careful while you are out there."

She raised an eyebrow with a bored expression on her face. So he hadn't completely shaken off his over-protective streak in him. She had to admit if he was a little older he would only be considered a father figure to her. She wasn't exactly young herself any more but still...

"Thanks Damas."

"You know what I mean." He snapped.

Sure, she knew what he meant. He meant to be all over-protective as he usually was with her. All the time. He couldn't even make it more obvious that he wanted to protect her for reasons other than the fact that she was his best warrior, his most trusted advisor, his one resource for someone to see into the future for him, his...Wait why was complaining about this?

"Yeah..." She replied a little distantly.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"Yeah..." She replied sounding just as dumb as she did before.


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Jak and Daxter

Chapter Seventeen

For **GreyJedi**

_Happy now, I wonder are you, happy now?_

_Now that you've had me..and I'm on my own, all alone._

_Are you happy now?_

_I recall the way you always looked at me, you chose those words effectively to work your way, inside of me._

_I had so much to give, but you didn't have to take it all. The pain I'm left with, I'm wondering, are you happy now?_

_Now that I've left you and you're on your own,_

_All alone, are you happy now? _

_What goes around, comes around. What goes up, must come down down down. Why did it take me so long to see you make me so unhappy?_

_Happy now, guess you could say I'm happy now. _

_We'll meet again some day some how. _

_But until then, look whose happy, look_

_whose happy, look whose happy now. _

_Guess you could say I'm happy now, guess you could say I'm happy now._

_~ Happy Now, Amy Studt, False Smiles_

_There were so many things which were happening around me, I forgot to think about what had happened before. Or to put it accurately what could have happened before. When I spoke to Onin for the first time I didn't even pay any attention to the small things that she had mentioned. Rather than thinking about the things which I knew happened to me what about the things that had happened which may be able to help answering the questions which I had. Sometimes these things try not to be to obvious about it. My past was of no importance. That was far behind me long before everything began to unravel. There was nothing for me to leave behind that was worth even worrying about. My reputation as an exile who refused to leave was a little more important to keep in mind rather than being the daughter of a renowned promiscuous woman or being an ex-thug of the biggest underworld crime boss in the city. That was just the past and nothing more. If I even bothered with the past, it would only be out of regret and I had nothing to apologise for. That is, not any more. Besides, nothing I did had anything to do with what came after. I didn't think that the things in the past which would come back to haunt me._

_Especially the secrets which I didn't know about. Those are the ones which get you because they're the ones you don't watch out for, so they can sneak up on you when you least expect it. I wasn't ready for my own. Maybe it was because it wasn't my secret. It was more my mothers, or my fathers. It was their deed not mine but because I was the only proof of it actually to have happened I was therefore dragged into it almost as if I was as much as a perpetrator as they were. Even when really I had nothing to do with it. They may be the sinners, but I am the sin. No matter how many times I have people coming up to me telling me that they have been waiting for my birth for centuries it doesn't erase the fact that there will be more people coming up to me spitting me in the face. I suppose that's what happens when you have a father that you don't know about. I never thought about whether he would be out there somewhere. I just didn't think about it, simply because it was easier._

_As I grew older it crossed my mind less and less because I had no need for one. The concept of a father didn't exist for me, I had father figures but I didn't have fathers and considering that I made it for the first twenty-six years without one I reckoned I was fine without having a father. So when he came into my life again I didn't know what to think. I didn't know what he wanted. I didn't know what he wanted from me but the moment he caused the domino effect by merely walking into the fringes of my life made sure of the fact nothing was ever going to be the same again._

~ (***) ~

"Wakey, wakey."

Aella groaned at the sound of his voice. All she thought that she was hoping that it wasn't him. She had only met him, once. Twice, counting the time when he ran her over and almost got her killed. But she knew that voice from anywhere. It stood out the crowd better than a lurker in the street. She was pretty sure of who it might be but she was just hoping, just for a moment that it might just be Calli with a throat infection. Although even then she was sure no one could make a noise like that unless it was him. The next moment she felt cold water on her face and she bolted up from her sleeping position and chocked on the water which had gone down her throat.

"Come on, newbie." Kleiver growled. "I'm not waiting around for you forever."

She jumped out of bed and threw on some trousers and a shirt which had been left out for her. She smiled, reminding herself to thank Calli when she got back. She looked up to see whether Klevier was out of the room (which thankfully he was). She could only tolerate having an ex-prostitute seeing her naked so having him watch her was definitely off the table. She also noticed that there was some armour which was similar to that of what everyone else was wearing and strapped it on tightly. A minute later she came out finding Kleiver with a surprised look on his face.

"You were quick."

She smirked. "I can be if I want to."

"Damas tells me you knew him when he was ruling in the big smoke. You were one of his best fighters. Or so I heard." He added with a little chuckle in his voice. "I suppose you are fairly tall for most girls."

"I'm not a girl. I am twenty-six you know." She snapped.

"Alright, alright. Don't get snappy with me. Come on, ankle-biter." He growled as he led her down the the vehicle bay. "You know how to ride one of these don't ya?"

"Yeah." She chuckled.

One of things every KG officer had to learn during their training was driving huge, armoured vehicles so looking at even the biggest of the ones which they had there in the cargo bay wasn't that intimidating.

"Well you can have the runt of the litter...considering that you will be." He chuckled and went on over to his own as she climbed into the one he told her to get into.

She started up the engine and waited for him to drive out so that she would follow. The gates opened and saw there was a little wind but nothing to be worried about. Apparently this was a routine run from what Calli had told her after she mentioned to her what Damas wanted her to do today and it never took that long.

"Stay behind me, Newbie!" Kleiver screamed over the engines.

As she swerved round a huge rock and out into the desert she gritted her teeth knowing that it was going to be no easy mission in surviving a typical day in Spargus. She never thought that she would find herself thinking this but she was sure that it was going to be more difficult than trying to survive a day in Haven City...

~ (***) ~

Annie had never been so exhausted but then again no one had ever dragged her up-hill this early in the morning for this long either. She was sure that it had taken them about two hours up-hill until they were actually able to see what it was they were looking for. Or more Amos was looking for. Apparently this was the place to ask if they had seen Aella passing by. That or another city which she knew it was probably best to try her luck out here before going around aimlessly into some scummy city.

"I am so going to kill you once we get to the top." She panted.

She heard him chuckled which made her want to kill him even more. With all that crap he was carrying on his back he wasn't even breaking a sweat and he didn't even look like a warrior and she knew she was much tougher than he was. He looked like he had never been in a fight in his life and she had to spend almost her entire days before she met Aella surviving on the street thought street fights and even avoiding a few people who would slit her throat for her food. He had told her that he was a monk although she didn't know the reasons why he was chucked out.

"So where are we going anyway?" She moaned.

"I told you, we're going to a temple."

She stopped. "What? A temple? I would have been able to tell you before we even started climbing this damn mountain that she would never have been there."

She wasn't lying either. On one mission they had to get away from the KG pretty quickly and the only place close enough was a ruined temple. Babak and Nik tried to convince her to go in but they wouldn't even get her to budge when they told her that they were going to hide in a temple. It was like she was glued to the wall. There was no way she would have come here.

He raised his eyebrow. "What makes you so sure?"

She gave him a look. "Aella doesn't do temples. She says they freak her out."

He smiled. "Really?" He turned around and carried on climbing. "Come on, we're almost there anyway."

She shook her head. "You're making a mistake, pal."

While she continued walking up she began to think about the kids back home. She had to admit she had made a real dick move leaving them back there. She knew Oz was almost fourteen now but he was in no position to take care of herself and she knew sooner or later Babak or Nik would find out that she was gone if she didn't find Aella quickly. Next thing she knew she would probably be bumping into one of them in the middle of the desert. That was the only thing which was worse than being ganged up on by a herd of Metal heads.

He looked over his shoulder. "Come on."

"Alright, alri-"

Before she could continue her sentence she found an arrow being pointed at her. She was so close to it she was sure she could feel the tip of it against her skin.

"Yumi put your weapon down." Amos requested calmly.

The girl glanced up and her eyes widened as she lowered her weapon. "Amos? Metrodona's going to kill you for being here."

"I'm sure she's beyond such immature behaviour, Yumi. Tell her that we've arrived."

"She's not in a good mood, Amos." She replied shakily.

"Yumi. I don't care. Tell her that we're here and that we're looking for someone. Or perhaps if you would rather we didn't bother her perhaps you could tell us."

Annie raised her eyebrow and turned back to the girl, she looked her up and down and then looked her directly in the face. She wasn't going to know. Or if she did she probably wasn't going to tell them. She wanted them out of this area as soon as possible and she didn't want them to come back. So that may be a good reason to tell them where they could find Aella or she may wanted to get rid

of them permanently.

"That would probably be a better idea. Who are you looking for?"

"A girl called Aella. Do you know her?"

The girl sneered. She knew her alright and she didn't like her. "Sure I know her. She came here a few days ago but then she left. She was apparently headed for Haven City."

"Trust me if she was back in Haven City I wouldn't be here." Annie finally piped up.

Yumi locked her gaze on her. "Then I'm sorry. I can't be of further assistance to you."

Annie grabbed her by the shoulder. "Oh no you don't..."

"Get your hands off me."

"Not until you tell me..."

"Amos?"

They all looked up to see a sickly looking woman staring down at Amos reaching out to him. "Amos is that you?"

~ (***) ~

Instead of stopping and picking it up, Aella simply kept on hand on the wheel and reached out with her other than to drag it out the sand. It turned out to be heavier than she thought and almost had it slipping out her fingers but threw it onto the seat next to her and did a last minute swerve around a rock before crashing into it. She was sure that she heard Kleiver chuckling behind her but knew that there was no point taking the bait.

"_Nice moves, Newbie._" He said over the intercom.

She pressed her lips tightly together and grimaced. Someone who was a little more naïve than she was would have taken this as a compliment. Although she knew from the little hint of amusement in his voice suggested that he was simply mocking her for what could have happened if she wasn't strong enough to manoeuvre the vehicle around the damn rock.

She pressed the button to reply: "I didn't see you picking anything up."

"_I'm not the one needing to prove myself, ankle-biter. I didn't half destroy the stadium. Do you know how much that's going to cost us?_"

Aella frowned. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"_You know exactly what I'm talking about, that little fire show of yours with impressive but its also dangerous. Dangerous is what we need but do keep yourself from destroying anything valuable._"

She shook her head. This guy was nuts. She had nothing to do with that lava suddenly exploding everywhere. When you had something like that hovering around machinery and whatnot it was bound to cause a little disturbance sooner or later. After all, those two things were never supposed to be mixed with one another. If they wanted danger they had to accept that they were going to be taking a few risks with that as well.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She snapped as they headed back to the city.

She could see the place beginning to rise in her view in the distance. She slowed down a little so that Kleiver could get past her. She curled her fingers around the handle break and waited until the doors would slowly open. Kleiver seemed to reach out for something to open the gates and frowned.

_Wouldn't it make more sense for her to have one of those?_

She shrugged her shoulders and continued to follow until the doors opened and swung into the spot which was left and slammed down on the breaks. She heard a chuckle from behind her and thought it was Kleiver it first only to realise it was someone else once they spoke.

"Nice wheel work." Damas praised. "I never saw you behind one before. I can see you're not that bad."

She shrugged her shoulders. "I suppose I can hold my own."

He raised his eyebrow. "I never said you couldn't. I always knew you were more of a lone ranger."

She shrugged her shoulders again and reached out for the few artefacts that they or more she picked up the desert and handed them to someone standing next to Damas. She was given a dirty look when she didn't handle them carefully and rolled her eyes.

"Why are they so important to you?"

"My monks tell me they are the answer to our salvation. We are, after all, at the mercy of the Dark Makers and the Precursors can only help us so much. We have to commit to our side of the deal also." He replied rather eloquently as well.

She stared at him wide eyed with shock. He never took all of this seriously when they were in Haven City. That is when it didn't come to her. Other than Moran, they were always laughing at the monks.

"What has come over you?" She asked dumbfounded.

He shrugged. "Nothing." He grunted. "Why?"

"Damas...you were never like this when you were in Haven City..."

"Well we are not in Haven City any more are we?" He snapped.

"Yeah, but...We used to laugh at this kind of thing, Damas. Not..."

She didn't know how to finish her sentence merely because she found the whole thing ridiculous. Damas, listening to monks? Pecker might as well become the King of Haven city and she no decent back-up argument for her being so-

"WHAT?"

"Well, um..." She stuttered. "I guess...er..."

"I _guess _you should begin to remember where your place is before you can even consider advising me and also I _guess _you should start tapping into that inner oracle if we're going to find any use with that power."

"HEY! I've been bothered with plenty of visions over these past few years I just haven't cared to tell you." She snapped.

"Um...your lordship?" Kleiver asked hesitantly.

"What?"

"Lord Valador is here. He wished to speak to you about...er..."

He was glancing in between the two of them which at first was only a suggestion of finally being intimidated by Aella after seeing how bad it was to piss her off, or perhaps being a hint at 'something else' which always annoyed her, or maybe...

"Is there something you're not telling me?"

Damas looked away. "No." He replied dismissively. "Thank you, Kleiver. We're going to continue this conversation-"

"No. I think I should go speak to this, _Lord Valador. _Considering that I haven't spoken to him in a while..."

Damas smirked. "Really? I heard that you two have had quite a recent reunion of late."

"Well that would explain a lot considering that you knew where to find me? What else has he told you?"

"Nothing of your concern."

"Maybe about what happened during the arena fight. What about all that lava business? People have been blaming me for that you know."

"I wouldn't be surprised. Since that was your fault."

"NO. IT. WASN'T!" She screamed. "How can it be my fault? Where is your proof? What led you to the logic of actually leading that to me? Tell me Damas, because I am really in the mood of proving you wrong about something."

Damas stared at her for a long time and surprisingly didn't interrupt her either. He was looking at her as if there was some giant metal head behind her.

"What is your problem Damas?"

"Are you telling me you really weren't aware that your hands were glowing?" He asked carefully.

Now it was her turn to pull the stupid face. "Huh?"

He sighed. "Your hands were glowing red. Red is associated with red eco meaning that as all monks to you have an affinity for an element that being fire."

There was a long silence hanging between them before she spoke. "Come again?"

~ (***) ~

Amos stared at her for the entire time, which really wasn't speeding things along. Annie needed to find Aella and get her back to Haven City. It wasn't a time to have a painful reunion with someone they hadn't seen in years. She could tell that there was something between them but obviously it was something similar to what was going on between her and the previous King. Everyone in the Underground knew that he was still alive and that there was something between her and him.

"Did you date her or something?" She asked Amos conversationally.

It took a while until she actually got an answer out of him. He almost seemed like he didn't hear her but then he slowly he turned to her with almost like a dead look in his eyes. She shivered a little and regretted actually asking him.

"Not exactly." He said finally.

She turned away and blinked. _What was it with these people?_

The woman came back in and she seemed a little better than when she did before. The moment she locked eyes on Amos she shook all over and burst into tears. Apparently they were supposed to be the same age but she looked a good ten years older than Amos, but she supposed stress could do a lot of things to you. Her white hair was beautiful but no woman in her fifties wanted to have white hair. She looked a little wrinkly too, but was tall and willowy making up for this a little.

"Hey." Annie greeted. "I was wondering if you could tell us where Aella went?"

The woman frowned. "Aella? Why do you want to know where she went?"

"Well she is the leader of our group and to be frank we're a little worried about her and as you know she's been gone for a little while now. At least four or five days so we were just wondering or I was wondering where I could find her so I could bring her ass back to Haven City."

She was trying to make it more than obvious that she was ready to lose it in a minute. She had enough of all this waiting and she was sure as Hell that she didn't have enough time before Babak or Nik would notice that she was gone as well.

Metrodona blinked at the young girl. "I see...I see all you girls who join the underground are troubled souls...So angry...So sad..."

Annie wasn't going to lie her voice was a little frightening. She almost sounded like those ghosts of your relatives that you saw the morning after they had died the night before. She looked so empty when she looked in her eyes. She glanced at Amos and wondered what the Hell he had done to this woman to effect her so much.

"I'm just a little pissed off." She replied through gritted teeth. "So please tell me where she has gone."

"She had every intention of going to Haven City."

"As I told you." The Yumi girl interjected. Annie gave her a dirty look and turned back to Metrodona.

"Well she hasn't." She insisted. "So unless something happened while she was on the way there I can suppose anything other than the fact that you're lying."

A strange thing happened then. Amos suddenly from his quiet, restful position jumped to his feet and pulled out a sword with one, gentle, swift movement of the arm and pointed the very tip of the blade against her throat. Annie had never felt the sensation of the very edge of death before. It was cold, frightening and surprisingly, calm. She glanced up and saw that there was a fearsome look in his eyes which told her that he still cared for this woman enough to defend her honour. Even if he did abandon her all those years ago, he still cared for her.

"Do not even dare to speak to her in that manner again." He threatened in shaky voice.

The temple had gone silent for a moment. She glanced at the two other women there who looked equally surprised at this behaviour. Yumi was staring at him with wide eyes, probably because she was surprised that she hadn't been able to find that weapon on him (she checked them before they came in) and that he had been able to wield a sword. However the other woman, Metrodona had a different expression on her face. It was almost unreadable but Annie knew there was something there.

"I just want her back."

"Well I am sorry but I cannot help you."

She pushed aside the blade cutting herself on the palm of her hand. She let out a sharp hiss and cradled her hand for a moment. When Amos came forward to Amos it was almost like he reverted

back to his gentle, violentless side. Nevertheless she drew back and glared.

"Very well." She replied stiffly. "I'll find her myself."

She walked away hearing the protests of Amos behind her but she was already running away before he could even have a hope of catching her.

~ (***) ~

"You see, Lady Auroalis," Valador began. "All monks along with being given a gift as a seer, or any other mystical sort of ability, are sometimes gifted with an affinity, or element if you will. Yours as it seems is fire. Or red eco if we're going to go by those identifications."

A hundred questions were being formulated, a thousand anxieties were being born, a million thoughts going through her mind, this wasn't a new experience. She couldn't remember the last time she felt like this but it was all too familiar. She was too used to this.

She frowned and shrugged her shoulders. "So what are you telling me? That I'm a sage?"

"Well...Yes. You have the ability to be one if you chose to be." He quickly added.

She closed her eyes for a moment. The only thing she saw before her was Samos and she wasn't sure whether that would be an appealing offer.

She raised her eyebrows. "Well I hate to disappoint you, yet again, but I have no intention of going into the religious profession."

She had heard this proposal way too many times for her to even consider it because she already had and there was no way that she was going to become one of those hood-wearing monks.

"My Lady, if you even chose to ignore the gifts that have been given to you it will be considered blasphemy by the Precursors."

She rolled her eyes. Where had she heard that one before? She was constantly given this threat with those who used it with the thought in their minds that it was enough to convince her.

"I never said I had no intention of using them. I just don't see the point in trapping myself in some temple and praying, humming or whatever it is you all do all day."

"That is not all we do, Lady Auroalis." He began.

"Then what?" She interjected. "Because I can't really see myself in that world. I can't see myself here. I don't understand how I got this and neither do you. None of you do."

She turned to Damas and glared at him as well knowing that he was surely onto this as well. He was always after some way of using her power to his advantage. That was all he cared about.

Damas blinked at her and for a moment his voice went a little softer than it usually was. "Aella...I would have thought that there would be no question of that."

She hated how he affected her like this. She never cared to cry over him. She cried over Barack but she never cried over him. Even when she was heading back to Haven City after she had been banished. Yet now, she was shaking all over and she thought that she might cry then and there. The expression on his face which made her feel a little warmer than she had done for the entire time she had been here. She quickly turned away and back to Valador.

"My Lady, I once had the doubts you have now and I assure you there have been more monks that have been through this turmoil than you might imagine. I can sympathise with how difficult this is to take in."

She took in a deep breath knowing it was going to take every ounce of will power for her not to try and kill either of them right now. She was trying not to look around to find a chair or table to throw at them. She was not trying to-

"AELLA!"

She glanced up and found herself caught between amusement and horror. She saw that Damas was already beating out the fire and once he was done his eyes snapped up to hers and she was petrified.

He looked like he might actually kill her. Instead his eyes drifted over to Valador.

"Go teach her some damn control. I don't want her burning down this city as well."


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Jak and Daxter

Chapter Eighteen

For **Ecomadness**

_You twisted a nerve you, put your hand on your heart. _

_You said 'hey don't worry, you're fit woman, that's all that counts now_

_I ignored all the usual signs, not really knowing quite why. _

_Let you decide yeah, aint it funny how I'm finding out now,_

_It makes me laugh how I let you have your way and your say,_

_I've got it now, so I'm asking you babe, _

_Did I ever even cross your mind? _

_Cause it's not a game of who is under the thumb, _

_I think you took me for a ride,_

_But I didn't see, _

_I didn't even realise, boy, that we were playing games of under the thumb._

_A pro at the sweet talk, back into your bedroom again like, _

_A fool I went blindly as soon as I got the invite_

_Swallowed it down with my pride, _

_Let you decide_

_I thought you were for real, _

_So I could give you more, _

_But now I want you on your knees begging on the floor_

_~ Under The Thumb, Amy Studt, False Smiles_

~ (***) ~

Aella didn't really care that she was probably disturbing, disrupting the entire city with her stomping and her slamming**. **She couldn't take any more of this. She felt like they were tossing her around like a rag doll being chucked amongst a gang of grubby fingered men. It reminded her of a time when she was sneaking on a metal-head nest with an army of KG soldiers. They had just finished devouring the very last of a person's soul and they were throwing the body around in the same manner. Almost as if it was amusing them. It was a game to them. They lived for nothing but for bloodshed and death. She felt like that dead, rag-doll body right now. She felt like if anyone looked at her, if they spoke to her that there would be something underlying in what they were telling her. She hated the way that Damas had looked at her. She couldn't believe that once he had loved her and that she loved him back. He looked at her as if she had a problem, as if she was a parasite.

She hated how she saw herself because of that. She hated the fact that he kept her here, suffering because she had hurt him. She was fully aware of the reason why he was speaking to and treating her the way that she did. If it was another time, if she didn't know what she knew now, if she was thinking about other things she wouldn't have blamed him. But right now she felt like he was in the wrong. All she could see right now was her side of it and not the other way round. She didn't hurt him at all she was just telling him how it was and what the consequences of his actions may be and did end up to be. She was just being honest with him. How could there be any wrong in that? How could there be any wrong in what she had been doing for the past four years. She had to be the one to pick up the pieces because she was able to be capable of responsibility.

He was just being a King. He was lavishing her because that was the only thing he had to give rather than giving not only her but the rest of the world something else. He just wanted to give up on something the moment he had been given a shiny, bigger, better toy to play with. Haven City was an old memory to leave behind to him. He didn't even think for a second about the people who were still there suffering because of the man he left in charge of it. He had no idea what she went through daily. She could just as easily given up like he did and by now she could have had this child of hers and given the world their freaking saviour and she could just be on the sidelines. But what about everyone else? Why did they have to suffer and wait while she could do that herself? Why did she have to be the one to give up everything she cared about, everything she believed in for someone she didn't even know and someone else who she wasn't sure she knew any more.

"My Lady?"

"WHAT?" She screamed.

Calli stood there a little amazed but almost completely shocked and petrified of this woman. She had seemed so warm and kind towards her since she arrived. For a while she thought that she had valued her as a new friend. Someone to confide in. Over the years the only use she had been put to was to comfort and be good company to men with large pockets. Over that time the other side to her never occurred to Calli. She never had to think about it because she never let that side of her into the rest of her life. She seemed to reserve that for the battlefield. She threw out all that turmoil, all those dark things struggling inside her and she noticed at the end of a battle there was a look of relief on her face. She had seen her on the battlefield and she knew she was someone you would never willingly want to face and right now she was experiencing that same feeling. She stood over her by at least half a foot but usually she didn't seem this tall and intimidating to her most of the time. She had been told, there had been rumours of her being called the Fire-bird or the Fire-mistress and she could see now that this was no reflection on her having the ability of controlling fire as people speculated but had more to do with the fact that she had a turbulent temper. She was shaking all over now.

"I was just wondering..." She replied in a quiet voice. "I thought..."

She couldn't say anything after that. She didn't know how she was to calm this woman down. She could recall when a few drunken customers had come into her room, she shuddered to remember the things which had been done to her. When things got too out of hand there was always a man to come in and pull him away in case the clients were intent on killing one of them. That was never good for business. Aella could see this and she instantly felt ashamed of herself. She knew she had frightened her away, for good probably. Hell could couldn't even look her in the eye. Aella sighed and waved for her to leave the room and did so willingly. She felt a little like a Queen or a Princess now who had thrown a temper tantrum. She bowed diligently as if she was a queen and she was her maid and left the room quietly. She threw herself in a chair and ran her hands through her hair and sighed. That was no a proud moment for Aella. She wanted to scream, she wanted to call her back and apologise but then that would require an explanation and one she didn't want to give. She might as well have gone back to the throne room and told Damas that she accepted the offer he previously gave her since she was already playing the part of a spoilt princess.

"What the Hell was that Aella?" She muttered to herself.

"I see there is too much fire in you sometimes." Said a voice from the door.

She jumped and saw Valador there, almost as if he had been watching her for some time now. In reality, he had done in a sense. There was never a time when she wasn't far from his thoughts. She was almost like the daughter he never had. She was a child that still needed to be led by the hand, he very highly doubted that she had done when she was a child herself. He heard nothing but stories of a poverty-stricken, traumatic childhood.

He put his hands behind his back and approached her with a smile on his face. "I find it surprising we didn't see this at first."

She narrowed her eyes at him. He looked at her straight into her eyes. There was nothing there, or something which she wasn't used to being absent from people's eyes. It was something which almost empowered her in a way. It usually meant that she was going to get through something alive or in her favour. He wasn't scared of her. In fact, he may even pity her. He probably thought that he had the upper hand in this situation. What the Hell was this? Even Kleiver was slightly frightened of her now. She was pushing everyone away and it was the easiest way of assuring that there was no disappointment to be made. There would be no way of people being able to threaten her with anything she held dear that way. She had people back in Haven City but right now she felt like that time in her life was over. There really wasn't anything to go back to any more. Calli, a girl who comforted and looked after her while she was here was scared of her now. She was sure that somewhere deep inside him, Damas was even afraid of her. She had no one left. No one except damn Valador. What a depressing thought.

"Do you have nothing to say?"

She glared up at him. "Not to you."

He raised his eyebrow. "Not to me? Is there something I did?"

"You did everything." She hissed. "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the crap that you continuously spout out about the damn Precursors. All you talk about is how great they are, how they should be constantly praised but look at the damn world!" She screamed. "LOOK AT WHERE IT IS NOW! LOOK AT WHAT THEY DID TO ME!"

"And what did they do to you, Aella?" He asked calmly.

"THEY TOOK MY LIFE AW-"

She stopped in mid sentence because suddenly she began to feel like she was choking. Something was overwhelming her.

_No..._

The mists were beginning to close in. The darkness was already surrounding her and there was no where else to go.

_Please..._

She could hear Valador speaking to her but it sounded so distant, it was so smothered over by her clouded senses that she couldn't hear what he was saying.

_No..._

_**Keeping people alive out here, keeping them full of hope, it can be daunting.**_

_Damas?_

_**I'd say you've made a good life here.**_

_Aella almost felt like she had rubbed her eyes from a long sleep and she was there in the throne room again watching her son and his father sit together. She smiled, thinking that she could have almost been there. There was something about the way that they sat together which made her think. She could have had this. She could have this but she was sure from the fact that she wasn't there, meant that she was never supposed to have this. Damas was supposed to. Jak was supposed to. The world was supposed to. She never was supposed to. It wasn't fair..._

_Why couldn't she have this? Why couldn't she be happy? Why couldn't she bring herself to fulfil this destiny? What was wrong with her?_

_**You too must make a life, Jak. Take your destiny into your own hands. Look... sand cannot keep a shape by itself, but add water and it becomes malleable. Fate can be such, if you add the right element.**_

She finally came to and it was about time as well. Valador sat there for the entire time as she muttered to herself as she walked through her own vision. It was strange really, watching someone else going through this. He never had the gift of foresight. He was given the ability of healing. It almost looked like they were sleeping, sometimes it was a peaceful, sometimes it was a nightmare.

Her eyes fluttered open and muttered something: "Waaaerr."

He leaned forward in his seat and frowned. "Aella? Is something wrong? Do you want

something?"

"Waaaeer." She insisted.

"Aella?"

"Water...I want the sun...I want my son...Damas...I want the sun...I want my son..."


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Jak and Daxter

Chapter Nineteen

For **Krin**

_When I get time to myself,_

_And have nothing to do,_

_I can't help feel the bitter sweet,_

_That searches through and through_

_I want someone to hear me, _

_Someone to need me, _

_Someone to care for, _

_Someone to share with, _

_Someone to stay with, _

_Someone to lay with._

_If only I could find somebody, _

_Someone who will understand, _

_If only I could find the one to give me what I need._

_If only I could find somebody who'll give me a helping hand,_

_I can't let life pass me by, I'm tired of being me._

_I've been lonely for too long, and selfishly I've cried, _

_I need to pull myself back up,_

_I need to turn the tide._

_So how long will it be?_

_So I can let go._

_I need to turn the tide._

_~ If Only, Amy Studt, False Smiles_

_She was beginning to feel afraid. For the first time in her life was scared. Despite everything which had been happening to her. She was scared. She was scared of what was happening to her. She like there was a fire inside her which wanted to burn her alive. She felt like she was in a pit of fire except she had been that fire which was burning her flesh._

"_HELP ME!" She screamed._

_She looked around to find if there was anyone there. She could see their faces but there was nothing which made it certain as to who they may be but there was something familiar about their shadows. They moved closer like old ghosts which haunted you to the point of insanity._

"_Help me!" She screamed._

_She leaned forward to see them a little closer. She was beginning to see their faces. She felt herself go cold. Lynder. She was dead. Jinx. Krew. Grim. Mog. Eris. Barack. Nik. Oz. Tess. Shayna. Duke. Damas. Moran. Those who were dead and those who were alive were walking slowly towards her. They didn't offer to help her. They were just watching her burn._

"_No...Please..." She whimpered._

_They just watched her silently as she burned. She felt like her heart was being ripped out of her chest. Something was pounding at her chest which made her scream. It wasn't the fire. It was something else. Something else which had been burning at her for much longer than this fire had been._

"_Water...Water..." She begged._

_She threw her head down and rocked back and forth until she could no longer hear the crackling of the fire and when she looked up once again she saw that there was nothing there. She was alone. Cold. She was so cold. They had all gone. She looked around wanting her ghosts again._

"_I want the sun...I want my son...I want the sun...I want my son..." She whimpered for so long that this was a dream that she returned to so often it felt like an eternity._

~ (***) ~

Nik was the only brother who missed his sister. Oz, even though people thought that he was too cute to think of anything serious but he missed his sister. She was the only one who ever made him feel safe. He could remember those years when he was only a child when he would feel someone's warm embrace around his small little body. When people saw this people would see the face of their mother. Oz saw Aella. She was the one who tucked him into bed at night. She was the one who told him stories. She was the one who sung to him when he was sad. She was the only one who was ever really there for him and now she was nowhere to be found and he felt lost.

He watched Tess sleep thinking whether they should try getting out of here. Go find Nik and get out of this shit-hole. He peered at the sleeping bird or whatever it was and then at the old woman who he wasn't sure whether she was sleeping or meditating. But he was considering doing something. She was the one who sent his sister out in the wilderness and now where was she? No one knew. Even Annie was induced to go out and find her and now she had been gone for a long time as well.

He had enough. He got to his feet and walked over to her. He knelt before and leaned close to her. She looked up feeling someone's presence there. She looked like she was about to reach out to him. But she seemed a little hesitant. She didn't know whether it would be the right thing for her to do. Whether she had any place in his need for comfort. It was all her fault if his sister was gone for good.

"Why?" He demanded. "Why did you send her away? Tell me."

She gave no answer but he was sure that he saw a slight smile on her face. She gave a subtle wave of the hand as if to tell him to let it be. To be patient.

He sighed and leaned back. "You can't tell me. Can you? You sent her because someone else told you to send her. You don't even know whether we're all in danger or whether we're all going to be alright at the end of this. People come to you asking for guidance and you...You don't even have the answers to the most important questions. You're a fraud." He spat.

The old woman looked up and gave him a look which sent chills down his spine. She reached out so suddenly that he had no time to stop her and then his mind almost went through space and time not just through what had passed but what was to come until it all came to an end. Then he saw his sister he saw what was to happen what she had do and when it was over he fell to the ground.

"Oh Precursors..." He muttered.

~ (***) ~

Aella had been lying there sweating like a metal-head with a thousand guns aimed at her. Except she only had Valador peering over her talking to her and Calli was leaning over her and moping her forehead, holding her hand tightly in hers as she regained conscious. It came and went but for a while they were becoming less regular. She was finally staying in this world for a while now. She turned to Valador.

"I'm...What was I saying before?"

Valador shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. "You were saying things which...Well they would have not made any sense for anyone who wasn't you."

She raised her eyes and sighed deeply as she sat up with both Valador and Calli supporting her on

her back. Calli brushed her fingers against her forehead and turned to Valador with a calm expression on her face reassuring him that Aella was going to be okay.

"What happened?"

Valador gulped. "I think the fire inside you is beginning to burn."

She frowned. "I'm sorry."

"You-You're...You're element is of the fire...Which means that you may be beginning to feel the..."

"So what I have red eco to worry about now including all the visions?" She demanded with a surprising amount of energy needed when someone was showing a display of exasperation. "Great."

He looked to Calli and raised an eyebrow. "Well its not like I was expecting her to take this very well either." He muttered.

"My Lord." She dared to ask eyeing Lady Auroalis. "King Damas...Does he know about the rest?"

Valador frowned. "About the rest?"

"She was talking about her son."

He smiled. "You mean the sun."

She shook her head with fear in her eyes. "No. _Son. _She said I want my son. She said the King's name and then said son."


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Jak and Daxter and I do not own Ladder in my Tights by Amy Studt.

Chapter Twenty

For **Mental Verin**

_So you think you got it all worked out_

_You got your hotpants on_

_You got your arse right out, _

_You think you're something but you ain't special_

_And me and my drop-dress, we won't do at all_

_Spent so long tryin' to fit the prototype_

_Kept a stick in the gears and I never got it right_

_What's the use?_

_What's the point?_

_You've got the wrong girl_

_Keep what you don't want_

_Doing down there_

_Cos I'll be flying higher_

_Waste your own time_

_I don't care_

_Anything you can do, I can do better_

_you girls _

_You look as if you hate me_

_What I'm doing still here, well_

_You're superficial_

_I'm a misfit_

_So you got your little groupies and gangs_

_You got your VIP_

_Your member-only things_

_Your happy-clappys and your VC crew_

_And if you get in their way, they got 10 on you_

_And I don't wanna be in that game_

_Don't wanna follow the leader, no way_

_So what we don't look the same?_

_So what we don't, so what we don't_

_So what I don't play your game?_

_So what I don't, so what I don't_

_So what if I don't?_

_~ Misfit, Amy Studt, False Smiles_

~ (***) ~

Red eco? Prophecies? She couldn't take this any more. She had to leave. Aella had enough of this. She wasn't even going to go back to that damn temple. If it wasn't for that place she wouldn't have ended up in this damn mess. She would have still been fighting the good fight (which Damas chose to ignore). Another reason to leave. She wasn't going to stay here if she was to be considered as someone's form of entertainment. She knew she was worth more than that. As soon as she looked out the window she knew she had to make a break for it. She reached out for the dagger which she had been given by someone at some market in the main 'city centre' of Spargus knowing that it would prove to be a good weapon to get out of here. If she was going to do this quietly she had to get in close to people. She saw some of the guards were still walking about the place and knew that she might be able to make a break for it if she was quiet. The sun was beginning to fall down in the sky again so she decided that it would be best to probably go when they changed guards. She noticed that they tended to do that at a certain time in the evening. It was the best distraction. She waited until Calli decided to leave her and gave her an especially big hug. She seemed a little surprised at firs but then smiled and sank into her embrace.

At this moment she felt even worse since she probably thought that they were getting even closer when she was going to be leaving for good. Then again there was a little voice in Aella's head telling her that this wasn't going to be goodbye. Somehow she felt like she knew she was going to come back one day. When she discarded this thought from her mind she waited till the coast was clear for her to climb down the wall. If she was able to break into a KG factory then she would have no problem sneaking out of here. She saw that no one was in sight for once and threw her legs onto the ledge and twisted her hips as she lowered herself onto a place to safely put her feet. She had spent quite a number of her younger years climbing walls to either entertain herself or when she had been locked out of her home when her mother had proved forgetful or drunk beyond despair. She needed to go back to the city, not play 'goddess returned' in a place filled with people which she frankly couldn't stand (perhaps with the exception of Calli). Besides she had been away for about good two weeks and she thought that it was about time that she went back home. She couldn't leave all the work to the people who had been left back at home. She knew that people would be wondering where she was. Especially Baron Praxis who would have probably seen it as a blessing that she was gone. Though she knew she couldn't abandon the fight this easily.

When she got closer to the ground she dropped down gracefully and looked around. It was strangely quiet, almost like they knew that she was going to escape tonight. She shook her head knowing that she needed to remain calm if this plan was going to work. She turned her eyes to gates and ran towards it. She hid behind the closest building and saw that there was someone there. She pressed herself against the wall and began to think. She wasn't going to get across the deserts without her hoverboard and that was where they were keeping all the buggies. She swiftly zipped across to the other side and crept through the side entrance when she waited for someone to walk out. She allowed the door to close behind her and she looked about the room for where it could be. She checked for anywhere which would be locked or where she could keep the damn thing. After a while of looking she saw there was another door which was a store cupboard. She looked through and suddenly everything came falling out. She jumped back and a heavy piece of metal fell down on her chest and opened up. Her hoverboard! She held it up above her head and closed it back in and onto her back. Now to get over the city walls. She looked out the control room through the window into the hanger.

She glanced around and sighed. She was going to cause a riot but she had no choice. If she didn't break out now and went fast enough she might just be able to leave. When she looked at he buggies she then remembered what a stupid idea this was and shook her head. No way. She leaned against the wall and saw the keypad. She had no idea how she was going to figure that one out and felt like she wanted to punch it. That even might help her in the given situation. She sighed and lowered her hands but her anger was on the rise. Just when she was about to give up something red was glowing in her hands. Her eyes widened and before she even realised what was going on the blast went straight to the panel. It looked like there was going to be a power cut with the smoke coming out of the lose wires and the door swung open. Before waiting around for something to happen she ran through the door and straight to the main gate. There was another keypad (which she didn't know the code to and threw another red ball of eco at it. She smirked when it turned out that the second time round was as much a charm as the first and the doors slowly opened welcoming the desert winds.

She looked over her shoulder whispering, "Goodbye, Spargus."

Then opening up the hoverboard she threw it beneath her feet and jumped on before going out into the dangers of the night...

~ (***) ~

Metrodona didn't know what to think. When she saw him again she could just feel all those things which she felt about him when they were children all over again. She could remember the day they first met when she was a girl of ten and he was a boy of eight. She felt so awkward next to him but he made her feel like there was nothing to be worried about. There was just something about the way that he smiled at her and the way he used to wrap his arm around her shoulders which comforted her. She remembered running through the halls like a little girl (despite her white hair which she had been adorned with since childhood) and he would find her doing so with a big grin on his face. She was a little embarrassed whenever he found her behaving like this but there was always a way he would look at her which assured her that it was fine. All those years ago and some things hadn't changed but things were so different now. It felt like a dream those days that she spent with him so now seeing him again was very surreal. She thought that she had been dreaming the first moment she laid eyes on him. She thought that she had seen some kind of ghost when he walked through the entrance but the moment he spoke she knew he was real. Just hearing his voice again made him feel like he was actually there. Even though he had aged considerably over the years she could still hear the familiar tone in his voice which always relaxed her.

All those years she went without hearing his voice or seeing his smile as she ran down the corridor. She seldom did so after he left. She just resided in the temple and prayed for most of the day and for most nights. She had even began to forget what it was to have the simple pleasure of a human being sitting next to her. They didn't need to talk to her someone just needed to be there, sharing the same space as she was. Then she wouldn't feel so alone, then again Photine never let her be alone most of the time. But she was gone now because she had pushed her away just as she had done with Amos. But he was come back. She knew that he had come back to her one day. Or more he had come back to serve what was once his purpose. The thing which disappointed her the most was that he betrayed his purpose opposed to him breaking his vows. If he was simply doing that then she wouldn't have minded but he had been such a gifted seer and now she was sure that he had been stripped of those powers as a result of his betrayal. Maybe that was why he had come back. Now that he had the Sight again he would be able to serve the people he was always supposed to have done. Maybe he was more than willing to admit that what he had done was wrong and now he was here to make up for it.

If this was actually the case she was going to be more than happy to let him stay here. Not just temporarily but forever. She would want him to be here if she had a choice in the matter but she wasn't going to make him her prisoner if he wanted to go back to...Then again she was in Haven City and doubtless he would have stayed there for long after he had been chased out by the monks of Haven City. It was the least she could do. She could remember that dark night better than most. She could remember those burning torches going through the streets of their own little city within Haven. She didn't join the mob instead she ran straight to the temples and prayed to the Precursors for him to be protected from the mob. She prayed for the most selfish prayer of all; for him to one day to return to him. After that night she prayed to the Precursors nearly every day to protect him. Now she had come back to him and she had to make everything right between them because of that. After all, she was aware of the fact that she had been punishing him for so long. She knew it the moment Photine walked away from the temple without looking back. She had realised she spent too much time pushing others away from her when now was the time to have her allies closer to her.

Something was coming. She didn't know what it would be but there was something on the horizon and everyone needed to be united now more than ever. She knew Aella was going to be the answer to it all but she was lost right now. Confused. She didn't know where she was supposed to be and what she was supposed to do and now she needed people more than ever to guide her in the right direction otherwise she was going to find herself more lost than ever before. She was even beginning to find herself thinking about her. Not just her though. She was also thinking of Photine. She was thinking about both of them in the same light. She knew it was her fault that she decided to leave. She pushed her away. She had been pushing her for too long and she finally, rightfully felt like she had enough and she was going to make her own destiny. Just like Aella. She could still see that she wanted to be the one in control and not the other way round. She wanted to make her destiny what she wished it to be without thinking that what was actually in store for her could be better than what she had in mind. Her own friend and now she thought that she was going to be left all alone until Amos came back. He had been the one to return to her. To forgive her for what she did to him. She was sure of this now that one day, she would see Photine again and she would forgive her too. Besides, her crimes against Amos was a thousand times than what she did to her.

She knew this was a sign from the Precursors. Everything was connected back to them and to say otherwise was blasphemy. She knew it would be an even greater crime to ignore them as well. She knew this was the time she had to do something right. She had been going around thinking that she was doing the right thing when in fact she was just avoiding what was the right thing to do. The moment she found out what had happened she went to the Council to tell them his crimes but she never wanted him to be ran out. She was just trying to protect him from himself. She thought he had gone mad being with that woman and fathering her child. She didn't even know what had become of that child either. She had been running from that truth for a long time and now. She had been able to half convince herself that everything was alright. That she did the right thing but now that he was here she realised she had been such a fool. The very thought of it ached in her bones and it made her feel like she was on fire. It was wrong but the feeling felt so natural to her that there was no point throwing it all away or denying it any longer. She didn't have to act upon it but it didn't mean that she needed pretended that it wasn't real either. There was no point in pretending any more...

She approached him quietly but she knew that he was aware of her presence just from the smile on his face. He always had such a beautiful smile.

"It's good to see you again, Donna." He whispered in a husky voice.

She felt her heart flutter a little at the comment and smiled gratefully. Even with the way that he looked at her it was speaking so many things to her which may or may not even be true. She had been given a few compliments over the years and she accepted them with grace and dignity but never had a compliment meant more from her because of the person it was coming from. Then the guilt sank in and she pressed her lips tightly together.

She smiled. "There's no need to be kind to me, Amos. I...You know what I did to you. It wasn't that long ago."

Even speaking of it made her feel like she was ripping out her heart. It made her body ache all over again.

He shook his head. "You did what felt right."

She was beginning to cry now. She always did when she thought of him, she just went a long time no realising the real reason why. She sat beside him and then turned to him suddenly with a sad smile on her face and shook her head.

"No. You know I was doing it for all the wrong reasons." She whispered.

Or more he didn't know. He didn't know how she really felt about him. He didn't know what was really motivating her to go to the Council and inform them of what he had done. He put a hand on her shoulder and nodded in the way that he usually did when he decided to let it go. To let her win a battle for the day. He always did this. He was always the kind one of the pair.

He chuckled. "It feels like its been a long time."

She scoffed feeling like he was just making her feel even worse about her old age. She had been aware of it for long enough but then she glanced at him and saw his greying hair and the odd wrinkle on his handsome face. She wasn't alone in her old age any more.

She nodded. "Twenty-five years."

"A lifetime."

She smiled warmly as she stared down at his half lit face. Despite his old age he was still rather handsome. She was even tempted to tell him so but she knew it would be rather frowned upon even though there was no one there to scold her.

"Is something wrong?"

She knew that she would have to tell him once she began and she wouldn't be able to stop and she knew the moment that she would finish he would never be able to forgive her as much as she had been unable to forgive herself.

She blinked. "What? No. No nothing is wrong."

He gave her a stern look. "You know that I can always read your mind better than anyone else, Donna. You know that."

She knew. She always knew that he was the one who could always tell when she was upset when she was on the other side of the room. He was the one who could always tell from looking at her back when she found something amusing. He was the one who could always see when there was something on her mind. Sometimes it was a question, other times it was a doubt and she always knew that he could be trusted to answer for it.

She giggled like a little school girl. "Very well. I...I was just thinking that you haven't changed at all. You're still..."

"What?"

She smiled slyly. "Handsome."

He raised his eyebrows in surprise and then burst out laughing. He threw back his head and roared with laughter and she covered her own mouth as she giggled. She glanced around the room wondering whether they had woken anyone up but saw that the place was abandoned and turned back to him to shush him.

"Stars, who would have thought that you would become such a flirt."

She tried to look offended. "Flirt? Why would you think such a thing?"

They laughed again and felt Amos take her hand again. He heart fluttered a little at the sensation of it and she looked up at him and smiled with affection dancing in her eyes.

"It's really good to see you again. It feels like old times...Even though the old times have long gone." She thought for a moment that he was speaking of what she did to him but then he spoke again. "Praxis...He's a tyrant. A man with no principles only a lust for power and no one can see that."

"I think everyone can see that, Amos. It's just everyone is afraid of him...Well nearly everyone."

He was quiet for a moment and nodded. There seemed to be something on his mind. She touched his shoulder and leaned close to him.

"Amos is something wrong?"

He blinked and shook his head. "No...Well, there is someone I think about...For many years now."

She looked away suspecting it to be the woman he laid with or even her child. She wouldn't be surprised nor did she blame him. Especially if it was the child. She could only imagine the kind of life that he or she had.

"What is the child's name?" She asked.

He looked at her solemnly and for a moment she thought that he wasn't going to tell her but then he leaned back and took a deep breath.

"If I tell you do you promise not to get angry?"

She frowned. Why would she get angry? Did she know her? Was there something which she was supposed to know about the child?

"Why Amos?"

He licked his lips. "Because...There was a reason why I was supposed to have this child. I hate to bring this back," He added when he saw the disdain in her face. "But the Precursors told me that it was time. That a child was to be born."

She took in a deep breath and shook her head. She couldn't believe this. She thought that they could both get past this but he was still in love with her. He was still...He still believed he could justify what he had done when his actions were just as wrong as her own.

She looked at him sceptically and folded her arms. "Alright. Who then?"

He gulped and felt his throat go dry. "Aella."

He watched the expression on her face change from scepticism to shock. Her eyes widened and she was shaking all over. She felt like she was going to vomit. She felt like she couldn't breathe. _Aella? Aella was Amos'...? _She turned back to him again but he couldn't imagine what was running through her mind at the time. Now that she thought about it she looked like him. She had the same golden blonde hair as him. She had the same bright blue eyes but of course in terms of facial features she only had his strong jaw and the rest of her attractive traits had come from her mother.

She blinked. "I..."

He touched her shoulder. "Donna."

She took in a deep breath and nodded. "It makes sense. No it does. Every one was always born of the gift so..."

She got to her feet and seemed like she wanted to find a way out but Amos took her by the shoulders. "Donna. Donna listen to me. You did nothing wrong."

"Yes I did. I only went to them because..." She bit her lip and shook her head.

No more. She didn't want any more of this. She bowed her head and rested it on his shoulder and listened to him shush her. He stroked her back and whispered things to her. Things she wasn't even listening to. Just hearing his voice utter syllables was enough for her. The whisper tickling against her neck was more comfort than was needed. She felt herself being led down a corridor and when she finally looked up she found that she was in her room again. She looked over her shoulder and saw Yumi watching over them both with a suspicious eye.

"You need to rest." Amos whispered.

There was a paternal look in his eyes which she knew she had been craving for all these years. When she looked up in the darkness as she laid in her bed some nights she would always think that in the shadows he was there waiting for her to notice him. She always thought that he would come back to her. Although as the years went by her faith in this small belief began to go sour and sometimes she even damned him for the pain which she continued to feel and carry around in her chest.

"You will stay?" She asked in a desperate voice.

He nodded. "I will stay."

Her heart felt like it had been lifted and she yearned for him to stay for the entire night but she knew that this would just arouse suspicion. She knew better than to throw away everything which she had made for herself here. She still had to with-hold the traditions of the old otherwise the young followers would have nothing to believe in.

She took his hand and smiled gratefully. "Stay a moment longer."

He nodded. "Alright."

He lowered himself down to the bed and she waited until she felt it was safe enough to close her eyes. For a moment she thought this had yet again all been a dream but then she heard his voice again.

"How is Photine? Is she here?"

~ (***) ~

Photine had been walking through the jungle for some time now. She had been walking for so long that day had become night and then night became day. The jungle almost went on forever if you were on foot. However none of the young ones seemed to believe this. When they arrived they were always brought by Spargus citizens in their vehicles. It was their way of looking out for their own and Photine suspected they were also doing it to keep contact with them for the dark days ahead. She could at least respect them for their pragmatism.

When she had finally reached the desert she sighed. _Well this was a good idea._

She had decided to leave and so far she had been protected by the prayers which she uttered under her breath. She looked out onto the horrible monster for a while knowing that this was merely a test of will. As every one of them had to eventually face. She knew better than most that she had a pretty good deal in comparison to others. Such as that girl who came a few weeks ago, Aella. She remembered seeing her during the ceremony and there was something almost sad about her. Something which made her feel like...She should feel sorry for her. However prayers could only last you for so long. Eventually the Precursors had to go and protect their children elsewhere and then she would be alone. She took in a deep breath and stepped out into the mouth of the desert with so many dangers in store for her. Dust storms. Metal-Heads. And many other things which could threaten her life but she still kept walking. When she thought that she was beginning to dry out she saw someone on the horizon. There was someone driving through the desert and unless it was someone who wasn't going to hurt her she hoped that they wouldn't notice her presence. However when she saw the stream of dust run towards her she began to panic and muttered a prayer quickly under her breath.

There was a skidding sound and then someone running up to her. "Hey!" Photine opened her eyes and found a tall, blonde haired young woman standing in front of her. "Are you okay?"

Photine nodded uncertainly. "Yes. Thank you."

There was something familiar about this girl. She wasn't entire sure of what it was but there was something which told her that they had met before.

"Why are you walking about in the desert at this time of night? Are you from the temple?" She questioned.

Photine smiled coldly. "Yes. But I left."

The girl nodded understandingly. "I'm heading back to Haven City. Do you want to...Tag along?"

Photine raised an eyebrow. "They won't exactly be welcoming me home." She retorted.

The girl smirked. "Well. They aren't exactly going to be sending the welcoming committee to my doorstep either." She replied opening up a metal plate in her hand.

Photine stepped forward, she had to admit she was a little intrigued. "What do you mean?"

"Well let's put it this way. I would hope that they didn't even know where my doorstep was." She replied.

Photine stepped forward and touched her on the shoulder to turn her around so that she could get a closer look. Her eyes widened when she saw her and stepped back. Aella.

"What are you doing here? You should go back to the temple."

Aella shook her head. "No. I need to go back to the city. I promise I will go back to...Well there's a couple places I need to check into occasionally as it seems now. But...I need to get back to Haven City. I've been gone too long and they have even sent someone out by now. I can't let that be on my conscience."

Photine nodded. "Very well." She replied jumping onto the jetboard awkwardly and holding herself close to Aella. "I come with you."


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Jak and Daxter

Chapter Twenty-One

For **Krin**

_Just one more word and I'm gonna explode, _

_I'm gonna self combust, _

_I'm gonna blow up the world. _

_Just one more look, _

_You're gonna cross the line, _

_I mean over the edge, _

_You're on thin black ice._

_There's a little bit of psycho in me I confess, _

_Why'd you wanna pick on me and not the rest?_

_Does it make you feel big? _

_Does it make you feel better? _

_If I just had a little more time, _

_I'd get some duck tape and silverware, _

_Oh if I just had a little more time_

_I'd show you the world is so much better when you find you don't fit, _

_There's a ladder in your tights,_

_you aint shiny and perfect. _

_There's a ladder in my tights and that's the way, _

_I like it, and that's the way I feel about it, _

_You'll be trying to hitch a ride with me, when it finally hits you_

_With just one more push trying to make me your clone, _

_Marking me outta ten for the label on my clothes._

_Just one more squack and I'm gonna hit back, _

_I'm gonna burn down your house in a heated attack_

_I'd get some c4 and dynamite,_

_Oh if I just had a little more time_

_I'd show you the world is so much better when you find you don't fit_

_With the time that you've found yourself, _

_Free yourself from the crowd._

_Yeah, the world is so much better when you find you don't fit._

_~ Ladder In My Tights, Amy Studt, False Smiles_

~ (***) ~

_I have always wondered whether you have ever been afraid. So scared that you feel like you can't breathe, you want to throw the covers over your head and stay there forever. I have wondered whether you've been so angry that all you can see red and you want to destroy everything in sight. You want the entire world to cease to have any life left in it to turn to waste. I've felt that too much and when I look back, I can at least be certain of things which have passed, that its wasteful to give into the emotions of fear, anger, guilt. I have always thought about this because I have sat and wondered whether I should feel guilty for not being there to comfort you. I wish I could have held onto life for long enough for you to know what it was like to have a mother. When I think like this I wonder whether I've transported myself from my present to your own. Time seems to be lost or no longer exist. I can't be sure whether you're always my never ending present rather than what my future will end in. I would wish to think that I could be there in spirit to comfort you but then again that will never be enough will it? It will never be enough to make up for the fact that I was never there. I don't expect you to forgive me for everything I wasn't there for. For not making you ready. For letting the future happen. I finally gave up. _

_In the moment when I realised I had something to lose but no longer had that to lose I knew that I had to go out into the world and be whatever it was the world needed me to be. I had something to lose and I didn't realise it and it took until I lost it to realise that I had something to protect. I was a free spirit but it came at a price and a price I would never pay if I had a choice in the matter. However that was just it. When you had something you cared about more than anything else, it was what came with having those selfish things that you wanted in my life so badly. There was something I was clutching onto for so long, something which I indulged and everyone else indulged me in this little venture of mine. I knew by this point that there was no use in avoiding it any more. The universe was screaming something at me by this point so I figured now with this wake up call that it was about time that I began to listen to what it had to say. I was so used to wanting people to hear me. To acknowledge that I existed and mattered that I lost sight of my own selfishness. It couldn't believe myself for doing such a thing but I gave up because it was simply easier than resisting that which was always going to be whatever I was going to do. It wasn't that simple though. Resistance still continued but it was the beginning of acceptance of both our destinies. I was really resisting all this time because I was afraid of what may happen if I did give in to your father and all the precursors._

~ (***) ~

It was only until they saw the sun rising in the distance when Aella and Photine arrived back at the city. When they arrived at the power station she hovered slowly over the ground and craned her neck back and motioned for Photine to jump off. She seemed a little wobbly and actually half fell off only if it wasn't for the tree nearby for her to catch onto. Aella jumped off with ease and looked around. It seemed strangely quiet for somewhere outside the city walls. By now there should be some metal heads, whether it was day or night roaming about the place. She glanced around wearily and held out a hand to Photine to hold onto in case they did jump out of nowhere. She could feel Photine shaking but when she looked at her she would have fooled anyone into thinking that she was calm. Aella turned away and looked around for there to be someone to jump out to get them. She was still aware of being on the top of list of public enemies in Haven City. She knew that anyone in the KG who caught her would be set for life because the reward would be that big. She turned back to Photine and wondered whether there was anything to worry about. Maybe there had been attack earlier that night before they were close enough to see or hear anything. She was about to put her gun away when something leapt out on her.

"LOOK OUT!" She cried pushing Photine out the way.

The dark shadow leapt upon her and before it could hold her under its weight she threw herself onto the ground and held her legs up to push it over her head. She heard an umph and rolled onto her knees to see that it wasn't a metal head but a person.

"Hey." She scolded. "There was no need to jump on me like that."

The man glanced over his shoulder then jumped to his feet and held a gun in her face but was shaking all over so Aella didn't feel that threatened. In fact she didn't really need to be threatened by him at all. He looked more like someone who worked with computers with a nervous personality.

"Stay back." He said shakily. "Stay-"

She rolled her eyes. "Relax, neither of us are going to hurt you. We're on the same side...Unless you work for the Baron that's another story."

"The-the Baron? Oh no." He said shaking his head. "He-he wants to kill me. Wait, did you say that if I worked for him I would be the enemy?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Yes. Why does the Baron want to kill you? I mean, no offence but you hardly seem threatening to me." She chuckled.

"Oh, I was able to hack into his systems and well if I had the time to download the data I would have actually been able to reveal all the dirty dealings he's been doing. But I was found out so..." He looked around wearily.

She smirked. "Well...It seems we have an enemy in common, which means we could be of some use to one another..."

The man stepped back wearily. "What do you mean?"

She held out a hand for him to shake which he took slowly and cautiously. "I'm Aella Auroalis, ring any bells?"

He scratched his head for a moment that his head seemed to make a gesture if there was something ringing in there and gaped.

"The fugitive? What the hell are you doing here? You have the biggest price on your head than any fugitive has in the history of this city."

"I can't abandon the city to the Baron's rule so I set up the Underground."

The man shrugged his shoulders carelessly. "Figures."

Aella raised an eyebrow. "Anyway, we've actually been needing a technician for some time now. It would actually help with getting into the government buildings for some missions. We've always been having problems with that. So what do you say, are you in?"

The man shook a little again. "Sounds dangerous..."

"Yeah, but where else do you have to go? You do know the Baron will just send mercenaries after you. No matter how far you run. We can protect you."

He grabbed hold on her clothes. "You promise?"

She leaned back and pulled a face. "Just as long as you let go of me." She snapped.

"Oh. Right. Sorry." He apologised stepping back. "It's just that's the best news I've actually heard in a while."

She raised an eyebrow. "I can see that...I didn't catch your name."

"Oh..." He said holding his braces. "It's Vin."

~ (***) ~

Veger looked over the file and smirked. He had to laugh at how the Baron and Erol were running the city. They were chasing after the wrong people or if they were chasing after some of the rights ones they were chasing them for the wrong reasons. There was one very significant example amongst the black-listed. Aella Auroalis. She was intriguing individual to say the least. Not only was she a Captain but she seemed to be gifted by the Precursors later on in life. He frowned however when he saw what the gift was. One which should have been put to use however according to the file she was a stubborn one. She was classified as a possible non-believer which he wrinkled his nose at. It was a shame really when there were devout believers such as himself and then there were those who were gifted by the Precursors but didn't deserve such gifts. It was something which was always passed on through blood lines. Though there was no one by the name of Auroalis amongst the monks from whom he could recall. He frowned and knew this meant that she had to be the child of an exiled monk. He leaned back in his seat and tried to rattle his brains over who this could be...He did recall that there was someone who had broken one of the vows of chastity. He had been found out by another who was apparently very close to him, but what was his name...?

"What are you looking at Veger?" A sly voice slurred.

Veger jumped from his seat and found Erol with his arms folded and a smirk on his face. Veger glared back at him. He had found that the head of the KG to have an unfavourable character. The Baron only listened to him because of his brash character. He had not one functional brain cell in that mind of his but he knew one day, one day the council would listen to him. It was a new age, with the King gone there were new opportunities at such a time.

"I'm just looking through some old files which I feel have been neglected."

Erol chuckled. "What makes you think they've been neglected?"

"Well for one thing this Aella Auro-"

"What about her?" Erol demanded.

"Well you seem very intent to capture her and either imprison her or execute her. Personally I think this would be a great waste to such an opportunity."

"If this is about her 'supposed' gift of premonitions I hate to tell you but you would be sorely disappointed. There were never real examples of this actually being true."

"The monks confirmed it. Even the Oracle Sleep she went into was a clear sign-"

"I think you spend too much time praying and not enough actually paying attention to the real world." Erol purred.

Erol scoffed. "I wouldn't expect and imbecile for you to understand such things. Mark my words Erol there will come a time when you will be answering to me. Be sure of that."

~ (***) ~

"Do you think this is safe?" Vin asked shakily.

Aella gave the technician a look and decided not to answer him. He had been complaining and muttering to himself like an asylum inmate since they arrived in the city. She took the sewer route knowing that they would be undetected this way. Whenever a metal head jumped out of nowehere he and Photine screamed and she shot at it and the panic was quickly over. When they left the entrance she glanced around and motioned for only Photine to come over.

"We're about to enter into the Bazaar now you take a left and go straight down that street and then take a right, that's where you'll find Onin." She whispered.

Photine nodded to her in thanks and wordlessly went out into the dawn lit streets. She went down into the darkness and gestured for Vin to follow her down the tunnel.

"We have to move quickly so keep close to me alright?" She demanded. "We're going to leave out another entrance, on the edge of the slums. Do you know it?"

Vin nodded nervously. "Yeah...Won't there be loads of KG officers around there?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "What does it matter? They're everywhere."

She continued walking down the tunnel ignoring him after the final turning she walked towards the exit and smiled when the light shone down on her welcoming her back into the city. She gave Vin a look as if to tell him to stick close to her and jogged out the sewers. Once fresh air hit her she looked around and saw the coast was clear for now. She ran in the direction of the slums and soon found herself back in her old home. It seemed almost foreign to her since she had been away for so long. She hid her gun away in case she alarmed anyone and she knew that was an easy way for her to get noticed. She glanced up at the windows in case there was someone there to spot her from their windows and it was still clear. So far, so good. She turned the corner and saw the familiar dead end. She walked a little slower down this way and glanced over her shoulder to see that Vin had actually kept up but he was a little out of breath which caused her to smirk to herself. Maybe she should offer him one of the beds when they got back. She certainly needed a nap.

She keyed in the code but it jammed and she smashed her fist against it causing it to malfunction but still open. She glanced over her shoulder at Vin who looked back at her non-plused.

"I'll fix that."

"Thank you."

She walked down the steps and looked around wondering if she would see anyone around. All she saw was a messy of brown hair face down on the table and she was sure that she heard snoring. She smiled and ruffled his hair. The man fidgeted and moaned. He slowly looked up and blinked. Then when it finally occurred to him that his sister was standing in front of him he jumped to his feet.

"AELLA!"

She opened her arms for an embrace and he gladly wrapped his arms around her. She couldn't believe she was back as much as he couldn't.

"We thought you were dead..." He murmured.

She chuckled. "Takes more than the Wastelands to kill me. This is Vin, he's a technician, I found him on the outer section. I remembered we needed someone like that."

Nik folded his arms. "Can he be trusted?"

"Oh yeah. Can he borrow one of the beds. See he's really not supposed to be here...For the same reasons why I shouldn't be in the city..."

He nodded. There was a relieved smile on his face but something was wrong. She could tell instantly that there was something which he wasn't telling her.

"Nik what is it?"

He looked to the ground and shook his head. He considered denying it for a moment but then he stopped and closed his eyes and sighed.

"Aella...In the time you've been gone...Something happened...There was a purge..."

"Precursors...Another one? Did anyone lose anyone?" The look on his face told her everything. Or maybe not everything... "Who?"

He gulped. "I...I had no idea that they would...I don't know why it didn't occur to me...Aella, Shayna and Du-"

"No..."

She felt like she was going to vomit. She felt like her skin was on fire. She couldn't breathe.

"Aella please-"

"No."

"Aella-"

She clutched her chest and fell to the ground as she felt the darkness closing in...


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Jak and Daxter

Chapter Twenty-Two

For **Darth Melly**

_Sometimes it seems that I have no place._

_And I don't know what to do, with myself._

_Night after another, I can taste the filth inside._

_And I need to reclense my soul._

_Nobody knows, nobody cares that I die, on the inside._

_Nobody sees the light that is me, as I smile on the outside._

_Nobody knows, nobody cares that I walk, on the wrong side_

_Tell me who..nobody._

_Tell me who..nobody._

_Tell me who..nobody._

_But you._

_All the friends that I've had, where are they now?_

_Guess I'm far too intense to be loved._

_All the things that I hate, I hate about myself._

_And I need to reclense my soul._

_Nobody knows, nobody cares that I die, on the inside._

_Nobody sees the light that is me, as I smile on the outside._

_Nobody knows, nobody cares that I walk, on the wrong side._

_~ Nobody, Amy Studt, False Smiles_

~ (***) ~

Calli walked into Aella's room hesitantly, considering how she had been lately she knew better than to just waltz into her room, even without knocking. She was used to such behaviour anyway since she knew it was her job to serve her. She was the one to pick up anything she dropped on the floor, which she rarely did, in fact she always found her clothes oh so neatly folded on a chair in the room. If she wanted a drink she always found before asking that she had already gone down to get it herself. So all that was left was to make sure that she was awake early but then again that turned out to be something which she didn't really need to worry about. She had noticed that she had a thing about Calli walking in on her naked or getting dressed. Over the years as a brothel girl she had become accustomed to this and she had almost forgotten that people didn't live like that. Or more she had forgotten what life was like with a little more 'decency' than what she was used to. She had gotten used to her being like this but she had to turn it down a notch for the moment. She looked like she was going to kill her the other day and she knew why. It had nothing to do with her, she knew she had to remember that. It was the King, of all people. She knew the way they looked and talked to one another was more than just angry exchanges between two old friends. She may not have experienced it but she knew love when she saw it. He had been kind to Calli, he had looked after her but she couldn't understand why he was treating Aella the way he was when she probably meant more to him than Calli ever would. She could tell from the way he spoke of her that he loved her but that seemed contrary to the comment. She took in a deep breath and stepped through the door and looked around only to have the smile fall from her lips.

She was an early riser, or came across as an early riser but she was nowhere in sight and the sun was just rising in the sky. She was always there to stand in front of her getting changed or just beginning to. She would always stand there with a frown on her face as if to ask 'do you think this is a good time to walk into the room' or 'are you aware that I am half dressed?'. Yet when she went into the room there was no one there to greet her with a half-annoyed frown and a familiar smile on her face. She thought for a moment that maybe she was still in bed and checked and saw that there was no one there. She left the room quickly and went to Kleiver to check if there was actually anything to worry about. She didn't want to cause a stir in the palace when there was nothing to worry about. For all she knew she could be on a mission somewhere which took her the entire night to carry out and was just coming back. It wasn't exactly an unusual occurrence for some people who worked for the King to do something like that. Yet all she could think about was how much trouble she was going to be in since she knew that Aella was gone and she was probably going to be the one who would be blamed since most of the time, she was used to being blamed for something which had remotely nothing to do with her. As she was running down the stairs she bumped in to Valador.

"Sorry."

He shook his head. "That's alright...Where's the fire? Shouldn't you be running in the opposite direction?"

She sighed. "She's not there."

Valador frowned and found before he could say something else Calli was already running down the stairs and went after her as fast as he could. She was already finished talking to Kleiver and spun round to see Valador with a worried expression on her face.

"Aella's gone."

~ (***) ~

Photine knelt down when she passed through the opening of the tent. When she saw the tent when she turned the corner her heart lifted a little. She hadn't seen it in a while and she felt almost like she had come back home after a long journey away. When she was in the temple back in the Wastelands she thought that she was safe but she had a feeling like she was away from home. She wanted to be somewhere where she felt like she belonged rather than somewhere where it felt safe and secure. She could remember the place from before she left. She helped Onin find a place in the Bazaar for her to hide, although she was pretty sure that the Baron was aware of her presence here. She had hoped that this would not be the case but in such dangerous times no one could help but think of the worst. Unlike the other monks of the city she knew that there was something protecting her. Over the years, long before the Baron was even born she had made a name for herself, being the greatest Oracle the city. The Baron knew better than to have her killed since it would cause a riot and there needed to be someone in the city. She stood tall before her and Onin looked up as if she wasn't blind and smiled.

Photine was about to step forward although a flash of red, blue and yellow stopped her and swooped on the top of Onin's head.

"Onin says its good to see you, Photine." He began tiredly.

Photine narrowed her eyes at the strange creature translating for Onin. "Um, tell her..."

"Oh she understands you, you just can't understand her." He snapped as if it was her fault.

She blinked and decided to let it go. "Alright. I came here to be...Um..."

"You came because you had nowhere else to go. We know that..." The creature said tiredly. "It's alright..."

She shrugged her shoulders. "Can I at least do something to help?"

"Yes. YOU CAN TAKE THESE DAMN KIDS BACK TO THEIR SISTER!" He screamed.

She jumped back a little alarmed and glanced in the direction of two blonde haired children stirring a little from the noise but didn't look like they were going to be getting up any time soon.

"Who is their sister?"

"Aella. Apparently she came back to the city when she wasn't supposed to..." He growled.

Her heart skipped a beat for the woman who saved her from the desert. "What do you mean? Where is she supposed to be?"

"Onin sent her to the temple but she left as I understand, there was also the hope that she would find her way back to Spargus but that didn't work out as planned either."

She pressed her lips together and shook her head. "No...She's a little stubborn...and I think she doesn't really want herself to think that's all she can amount to."

The creature made some noise of disgust. "Ungrateful child."

Photine sighed and turned to Onin. She sat their silently, not seeming to have anything to say for some time. She had been blind for years but back in the time when she knew her she had been able to converse with her easily. Had something happened since she left Haven City?

"What happened to her?"

The creature glanced at her and narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

She took in a deep breath. "I mean why can't she talk? I made sure before I left that she would be safe."

Onin glanced up at her and a sad expression passed across her face. "After you left, the Baron found Onin and...Well he made sure that she would never be able to speak to anyone of the things she could foresee...Until she met me that is..." He added with a sad smile.

She smiled back and stepped a little closer to Onin and knelt before her and raised her hand to her cheek.

"Don't worry, Onin. I'm here to help you now..."

Something else passed across her expression and she looked up to the interpreter to tell her what it was.

"Onin is worried. Aella is going in the wrong directions...looking in the wrong places...She fears that if she doesn't get back on track then we might not have anything to hope for..."

~ (***) ~

Valador and Calli walked down the hallway nervously. Neither one of them knew what to do. Neither one of them knew how they were going to break it to him, but someone had to break it to the King since the longer you left these things the more mad he got. Before Valador knocked on the door there was a silent exchange between the two and then he bravely knocked on the doors.

"Come." Called a husky, frightening voice.

Valador pushed the door open and stepped into the throne room. Damas had been pacing as the hands behind his back and his eyes cast to the ground suggested this. Valador licked his lips thinking that this wasn't the worst moment to alert him about what had just happened but there was no knowing for sure.

"What is it?" Damas asked. His tone of voice suggested it was a demand but that was just his voice.

Calli and Valador looked at each other again and then turned back to the King. "Your Majesty...You're not exactly going to like this..."

~ (***) ~

_**Approach the Astro-Viewer, time warrior. Behold... the seed of our destruction. **_

_**We Precursors built many worlds across the universe. Shaping them with eco into something good... but we were foolish. The Dark Makers were once Precursors, but their exposure to Dark Eco changed them. They began twisting worlds, conquering life and dark ages ensued. Now the dark ones have found your world and are coming to claim it for themselves. **_

_**There is but one hope left. You will find a planetary defence system hidden deep at the core of the planet. There is still a chance to save your world. I hope you are more successful than many planets whose fate has already been closed...**_

_Stop this._

**Why should we stop this? Isn't this what you want?**

_How could you say that?_

**You don't want to have anything to do with this.**

_Yeah, but I don't want the world to come to an end either. If I know something about this then..._

**It is your responsibility that whatever comes to hurt those you love the most are stopped.**

Aella woke up with a start and banged her head against the bottom of the bed above her. She pressed her hand against her forehead and cried out in pain.

"OW! DAMN IT!"

She heard a pair of feet rush over to her and opened one eye to see Vin and Nik knelt beside her bed.

"Are you alright? Did you have a bad dream?"

She took a moment for the pain to subside and took in a deep breath. She knew he wasn't going to like what she was going to tell him.

"I have to leave."

"Again?"

She shook her head. "No. For good. I've caused too much pain, Nik." He began to shake his head to stop her but she held up a hand to tell him to listen. "If it wasn't for me Shayna and Duke would be dead-"

"No. Don't you blame yourself for that."

"You don't understand, Nik. There is something els-"

"I know."

Her heart missed a beat. "What?"

"I went to Onin. She showed me. She showed me everything." He took her hand. "If that's the reason you need to leave, let that be the reason. But don't let what's been going on be the reason. Don't let me believe that lie."

She nodded and finally flickered her eyes in her brother's direction and wrapped her arms around her. She held onto him tightly knowing that this would be the last time she would ever hug him.

"We have to find them." She whispered.

He drew away for a moment. "Find who?"

She smiled sadly. "I know you would wish to run the Underground yourself, Nik. But I can see it in your eyes that you don't have it in you any more. I thank you for I have for what you have done in my absence but I have also seen that...Someone else is in my place and there is another you need to hire if everything is to go as it should."

Nik took his sisters hand, there had been times when he disagreed with her, but from what he had seen in the past few weeks, the things he had to deal with he didn't feel up to it to argue with her and he also had a feeling that it would be a very unwise decision to do so...


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Jak and Daxter

Chapter Twenty-Three

For **Hold on hero**

They were both running as fast as they could. Tess and Oz glanced at one another and exchanged a mischievous glance when they almost bumped into a shopkeeper carrying fruit into their shop. He had a look on his face which suggested that he wanted to shake his fist at them if he had spare hand to do so. They knew that if they didn't get there in time they were going to miss her. Oz had been waiting for her for so long and he couldn't wait to see Annie again. He had to be honest he had been more worried about her than he was about Aella and she had been gone much longer than Annie had been. He just knew that Aella could look after herself. Annie was still beginning to get the hang of that art. She always told him that when she got back from a day when he thought that she was never going to come back home, she would smirk and tell him it would take more than a few bullets and a couple of scars to scare his sister into the arms of death. Every day she was stepped forward in death's path and laughed at him running away again daring him to chase after her knowing that she would never get caught. The only problem with that was that he knew that one day she would be caught. One day he would ensnare her and what then? How would he be able to save her then? Who was to say that there was actually someone out there who needed to look after Aella when her brothers weren't around to look out for her?

Oz turned the corner and ran down to the dead end and banged on the door. The door opened with a nervous looking man telling him he was trying to fix it. Oz ignored him and found his sister and older brother hunched over the table looking over the progress of the Underground while she was gone probably. She looked up and beamed in his direction. She dropped everything, which was a new thing for her really and wrapped his arms around him.

"Oz. You've gotten taller."

Oz shrugged his shoulders. "It happens."

She smiled. "How have you been? Both of you." She said taking Tess' hand as well.

Oz shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing much really. Haven't really been able to sleep well really..." He added thinking of Pecker. He turned to his brother and smirked. "I bet you have her Hell when she came back." He joked thinking of Annie.

Aella raised her eyebrows. "No actually he was very welcoming thank you."

Oz frowned and shook his head. "Never mind." He mumbled. "So what have you been doing?"

"I was sent to...See this temple and I was in a city called Spargus."

"Spargus?"

"It's a city outside the city walls. Damas rules there now, so there's no question of him coming back. Still, its been alright..." She paused and took Oz by the hands again. "Oz, there's something I have to tell you and its not going to be easy..."

He smirked. "So just say it."

She took in a deep breath still seeing the little boy who always depended on her because there was no one else to take him to school, or put to bed or make sure that he had brushed his teeth. Now she was going to tell him that she was never going to see him again. How was someone to tell the person who depended on them more than anything else that they were going to leave them behind on a chance?

"I'm leaving. The city. The underground."

The smirk fell from his expression. "Why? Was this about Shayna and Du-"

She shook her head. "No. At first it was but there's something I have to do but it requires me leaving for good. Oz, please." She implored as she watched him shake his head hiding his tears away from her. "It's hard for me to explain...this logically. I wish that I could find an easy way to get around this but I've been running away from it for so long that I've run out of having the opportunities to have the other options."

"I can't believe you're leaving us because of that...that OLD WITCH! I saw everything too Aella! I saw what she said that you were supposed to do and I thought you were above all that! I can't-"

"Oz that's enough." Nik snapped sternly.

Oz looked between his two older siblings and shook his head and stormed out. He heard people calling out to him he didn't bother looking over his shoulder so he didn't see his brother spin him round.

"Oz come on."

The two brothers struggled against one another. "Stop this Oz."

"Let me go."

"Oz please."

"Why are you letting her go? Why are you letting her abandon us? Why does she have to leave?" He demanded desperately.

Nik opened his mouth unsure how to answer his brother. "You said he saw..."

Nik smiled and shook his head. "I saw. But that doesn't mean..."

"Yes it does. You saw. You know better than me what will happen if she doesn't leave."

Oz shook his head. "I can't do this. I can't..."

He looked up at his brother one last time and turned away as he walked into the darkness allowing the night to swallow him whole.

~ (***) ~

Aella waited in the dark for him. She waited wondering what the Hell Nik had been playing at when she was told that he had turned him away in her absence. Even when she had no visions of this she would still have let him in to talk to him. She did after all know of who he was and knew enough about him to probably to be great help to the resistance. She knew she had to find the other one...Torn she believed his name was. Though if Samos was going to be here she was sure that he would know where he was considering what her visions suggested. She knew he had to come back and become part of the future of which she saw. She should have stayed, a part of her wished to stay and learn as much as she could from him. But she knew now that she had been procrastinating for so long that she didn't have the time to ask for the help of others. She had to do her part of her destiny by herself. But she couldn't leave things as they were here either. She waited in the cold for a while wondering if he was even going to turn up or whether she was just waiting for a trap to be pulled over her head. Fear gripped her hard in the chest and she glanced around wearily and was about to turn around and leave until she heard a hurried clogging sound.

"Wait!" A old voice wheezed.

She turned around and a familiar green face emerged out of the shadows. He leaned on the wall nearby.

"I'm sorry, I'm late. I had to go by to see someone before hand. I was sent a message that you wanted to see me."

She nodded. "Yes. Why don't we go to the headquarters." She offered glancing around. "You can't trust the streets at night."

Samos nodded and followed after and looked over his shoulder himself. "May I ask what this is about?"

"Best wait until we were indoors before we discussed particulars." She replied.

He raised his eyebrows and remained silent for the rest of the journey back. She typed a code into the panel tentatively and smiled joyfully when the door opened swiftly and smoothly. Samos followed her down the steps and into the small, cramped room. He glanced around and saw all their plans were in order and nodded with approval.

"So what was this about? Last time I came here I was turned away like a crazy old man that needed to go back to the retirement home."

She smirked. "I'm afraid that you may get that a lot from now on...Unless you give yourself a code name..."

Samos shook his head. "What on earth are you babbling about girl?"

There was a distracted look on her face which she seemed to snap out of for a moment. "Oh. Sorry. You see, I have to leave."

Samos looked confused. "What do you mean? The city?"

She nodded. "For good. There was something...That I've been needed to-" She saw the expression on his face and stopped talking for a moment. "You've been talking to Onin."

He nodded. "Yes. Listen, kid. I'm glad that you've finally had this wake up call of yours but I've got to ask what this has to do with me."

"Well, I need someone to stay in my place. To run things..."

"And?"

She blinked. "Well I would have thought that it would be obvious by this point of what I was asking you to do..."

Samos took a moment to think about it and when his eyes widened Aella smirked when she saw that he was finally getting it.

"Um-er-well...I am flattered, kid. Seriously."

"You have to be the one to lead them. I've seen it. You're the one who help's Ja-Er...That doesn't matter now. You'll get it when the time comes."

"You're not giving me a lot of information here, kid and to be honest I feel like there's more I should know than you're telling me."

"I think it would be better if you guys just figured it out as you went along if I'm honest." She replied. "Look I know this is a terrifying proposal to make but I really feel like you're the only person who can do this."

Samos shook his head. "Why me?"

Aella saw the look on his face and hearing what he just said was just a reason waiting for her to smile. He was sounding just like her years ago when she was told that not only was she looking into the future, she was going to be the mother of a Prince and a hero. She could see how the reaction he was having to all this was pretty understandable. When you were told that you had to do it and no one else it was wholly unbelievable and strange considering that usually there was always a line of other people who _could _do the job. It was never you being the _only _person who could do this.

"Because...I-I don't know. It's just what I see. It's what they tell us we need to be and it turns out you're that person. You're asking me a question I can't answer even though I really wish I could."

Samos took a moment to take all this in and took a deep breath. He turned to her and finally nodded.

"Alright. I'll do it...Although I do have one request."

"Name it."

"There is a young man, an ex-KG soldier who was looking for work here. Understandably the Underground was nervous about him being around here and I was just wondering...Because he really wants to help you all-"

"What's his name?"

"Torn." He saw a small smile on her lips and frowned. "What's so funny?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. It's just I've kind of being looking for him, for the same reasons..."


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Jak and Daxter

Chapter Twenty-Four

For **Krin**

_Constantly, finding ways to fill the empty space. _

_But still it seems that nothing touches you any more. _

_And you're not really sure, which way to turn. _

_If you feel the sadness sweep you off yout feet, _

_Doubled in the things that you feel. _

_~ Gonna Be Fine, Amy Studt, False Smiles_

~ (***) ~

She left the roar of the crowds far behind her as she walked out the arena. She looked down at her second battle amulet and smirked to herself. Now she had only one more battle to go and she was a true citizen of Spargus city which would take her one step towards her destiny. She shook her head at herself for a moment, not believing that she was actually thinking like this. If she had been told this a few years ago she would have laughed in their faces and told them that they were mad. When she came back to Spargus she made it more than clear that she was staying for good. She solemnly went back to Damas as soon as she entered the city and told him that she would remain here for good and only meant to stay away temporarily. Her voice shook as she told him this lie but she knew it was going to be the only way she would be allowed to stay. She knew if she told him the truth that he would send her out of the city for good and then she would have nowhere else to go. He didn't seem to say anything to her, she had knelt there on the ground as she said this but he didn't even turn around to see this. He probably thought that she was lying as she told him this but she didn't care. She wasn't going to even bother trying to convince him. She knew it was something that was going to take time if anything for it to happen.

"Quite impressed, Newbie. Although I was a little disappointed that there wasn't a firework show." Said a familiar voice.

She sighed and stopped. "Hey Kleiver." She greeted dryly.

"I have to ask though...What were you doing on that little visit back to Haven City? I mean I heard that you have been exiled from there and on top of that you had resided there for a number of years as the leader of the rebel leader against the Baron ruling the city."

She narrowed her eyes. "If you know so much why do you bother asking?"

Kleiver grinned. "Just wondering..."

She clenched her fists as she watched him walking away from her. She was tempted to get her gun out and shoot him in the back. She wanted to wipe that smirk off his face somehow. She was about to go after him but then she heard someone else behind her.

"Aella."

She spun round at the sound of his voice and the shadow which he cast over her made her shiver. Damas walked towards her with his hands behind his back and gave her a stern, intense gaze.

"You fought well. I have to admit I was surprised when you returned and I was a little doubtful as to whether you would be able to survive."

She tried to suppress a snort of disgust. She couldn't see how he had become so scorned against the world. She could see how he had become hardened by it all, but she couldn't see where all the spitefulness had come from. She would have thought that he would find a sense of fulfilment in the desert. This was everything that he ever wanted, he always wanted to be a warrior, to rule over a city of people who had the same warrior blood running through his veins which were running through his. But his behaviour was suggesting otherwise. There was something else which was missing in his life, or something which he had lost and which he had regretted losing. She knew that this was just his way of getting back at her. She just had to take it for as long as she could until he would finally come around. Or at least decided to forgive her. She had made a lot of mistakes in her life but she was never going to apologise for this one. Or at least she wouldn't do so truthfully anyway. Whenever that was going to be. She had to admit that she could understand why he was getting at her but if he knew what she had to do then he would probably be thinking differently. She wanted to scream, implore how hard it had been all these years but she knew she had to bottle all that up.

"Well, I suppose we're both in for a few surprises this time round." She answered and looked as if she was about to walk away although Damas stopped her again by continuing.

"What do you mean?"

She took in a deep breath and turned around and walked back to him. "Well I never really expected you to allow me back in the city. After I had left...For the second time..." She added with a little chuckle.

She was sure for a moment she saw a little smirk peeking out of the corner of his mouth but he turned away as if to control himself and slowly put an arm around her shoulders.

"Walk with me."

It wasn't a request, it was a demand. The very tone of his voice made her feel like she was beneath the dirt under their feet. He never really used that tone much with her when she was serving him in Haven City so she wasn't entirely sure what it was about this place which had changed his attitude. She looked around and shook her head. It had to be the place. It probably made him somewhat worse but then again she never saw anything wrong with him in the first place...Scratch that. She looked over his defaults. She ignored them. She accepted his flaws and that then turned into her seeing that there was nothing really wrong with him. She saw that he had flaws, everyone had them. Even she saw her own faults (after a long time and finally being able to bring herself to have a long, hard session of self-reflection) but she was willing to accept his, so really the proper way of her putting it would probably be that it was getting harder for her to be able to overlook them since they were becoming more difficult to actually ignore on a day to day basis. It was like banging your head against a wall. His constant taunting didn't exactly help either. It was getting to the point where she wanted to punch him in the face and tell him to get over himself. He was proud like her but she was at least willing to admit to her mistakes. The fact that he was a king really wasn't a good reason to avoid that fact.

"Alright."

There was a long pause before he spoke to her again. She had to give it to him in that long pause he did look like he was thinking about what he was going to say to her. Or at least thinking about something...

"I have to admit when I was told that you left, I didn't believe them. There was a part of me which knew that you would come back to us."

"Like a dog with a tail inbetween its legs." She retorted scornfully.

He stopped and his head snapped in her direction. She felt dread flush down her throat and she instantly regretted her words.

"I don't entirely hate you."

She looked away. "I know. I know...Otherwise you wouldn't have let me back in the city..."

He tutted her. "You're trying to think logically."

She frowned. "There was once a time when you liked me for that."

He grunted. "Well...Perhaps you are required of more than that now." He said softly.

She smiled and for a moment she thought that this might be it. This might be the time but she was just being foolish as it turned out. He simply nodded to her and walked away. As she watched him go she had to admit there was a part of her heart which ached. She raised her hand and it hovered over her chest as if she was trying to find the place but she was getting lost. She was always getting lost...

"Lady Auroalis?" She jumped and gave Valador an annoyed look. "I'm sorry I startled you."

She shook her head. "It's fine."

"I was wondering if I could talk to you about something. It's about that vision that you had before you left...You were speaking out loud..."

She shrugged her shoulders. "I usually do that."

"You were talking about your son."

She stared at him with a petrified look on her face, or enough to tell him that he was right it whatever he was presuming. She took him by the shoulder.

"You can't tell him." She whispered.

"I wasn't going to...I was just wondering if it was true." She nodded and he almost seemed to smile. "I never thought I would ever see another descendant of Mar. If you need any help-"

She held up a hand feeling a little weirded out by all this. "Alright. Calm down. Let's just take it a day at a time." She said walking away.


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Jak and Daxter

Chapter Twenty-Five

For **LeiaOrganicSolo**

_Don't be ashamed of who you are and don't be afraid to stand your ground._

_Cause at the end, end of the day, _

_You're one step closer to finding your way, _

_And although you might think you're out of time, _

_You're gonna be fine._

_Cause at the end, end of the day, _

_You're one step closer, _

_To finding your way, _

_And although you might think you're out of time, _

_You're gonna be fine._

_~ Gonna Be Fine, Amy Studt, False Smiles_

"Do you think we're ever going to find him?" Tess asked in the darkness.

Nik looked out the window and thought of other things for a while before Tess mentioned his brother again. He gulped and closed his eyes to hold back the tears. If only he could have a moment where he didn't think about his brother. He knew now not to think of his sister since it was unlikely that they were going to see one another again, so there was no point in worrying about her. He wasn't not ever going to think of her again, not wonder what she was doing, whether she had a child or not. He was just going to accept the fact now that she could make her own way in the world. It wasn't that he didn't care it was just that it had been a couple of weeks now since they last saw him at it got to the point when he was thinking that he was in the corner again sometimes and when he would turn around he would find that it was just a trick of the light or a shadow. He was beginning to have nightmares about him if he ever actually got around to sleeping. He had had enough hours of thinking about his brother that he felt that he had wasted away the hours and the minutes and the seconds enough for a while. He had enough of wondering what his brother was doing, where he was or whether he was alright. He was only fourteen for goodness sake. Now that Tess had brought it back to his mind he was sure to anticipate another restless night. He had enough restless nights for the work that he knew he had before him.

"The city's only so big." He replied with a tired smile.

She returned the smile but it soon faltered a little and then disappeared into the night. She was feeling a little guilty at the moment considering the other little problem the Underground were straining themselves under. New management thought it wasn't much of an issue but that was because they weren't that well acquainted with Oz or Annie. They thought they needed to spend more of their time on fighting the Baron (which was true) and should leave the lost person's be. Something which none of them were going to do. Oz, Nik and Aella were like brothers and sister to Tess. Her mother more or less adopted them right on the spot so she felt like family to them and they were the kind of family who would never let them be just because there were other, bigger things on their plates. Family always came first. No time or energy should be wasted on trying to find some lost lambs. Nik agreed with this kind of philosophy, most of the time but because this involved his family it meant that there was going to be no competition in which of his priorities came first.

She knew there was something else on his mind as well. She could see it in his eyes. It was the same look her mother used to have when she wondered whether Duke was going to come back home after a night shift. Shortly after Oz's abrupt departure Tess told them about Annie. She knew that they needed to know even if it was going to get her into trouble when she got back. When she was finished Aella turned to Nik and told him that she would keep an eye out for him on her way back to Spargus. Nik nodded and told her he would keep a look out if she returned. Aella looked more worried than Nik but everyone knew. Everyone knew what could be possibly going through that busy mind of his. Everyone could tell from Nik's reaction that there was more than general concern for Annie which would motivate him into finding him. Tess wasn't exactly an adult yet but with what she had been through she could say that she almost pretty much qualified as one and she could see that there was something else which was bothering Nik about all this, or more accurately she knew what was bothering him. He was probably thinking about all those moments when he could have told her. He was probably thinking about why he never said anything. Regret, if anything was the only emotion which he was wasting his energy on. He probably thought that he didn't have another chance to tell her all these things.

"When did you realise?" She asked quietly.

He blinked his eyes at her with question mark on the top of his forehead. "Sorry?"

She giggled. "When did you know that you loved her?"

He tried to laugh it off and turned away. "Tess."

"When?" She demanded.

He was quiet for a long time after this. She knew it was difficult for him to be like this. He wasn't exactly the emotional one in the family. He never had visions to worry about or the girl whose mother died. A woman who was a real mother at that. He was never really much of a confused, frustrated teenager like Oz. He never had an excuse to be a little dysfunctional or angsty.

"I suppose it was always there but...With every day that passed, with every second that I put it off it got worse and now...I guess I'm paying the price."

~ (***) ~

She tapped her shoes against the wall as she waited for him. She looked up at the sky and sighed. It was cold when it was supposed to be summer and they were surrounded by deserts. Then again she was wise enough to be able to predict a long winter. She didn't have to be a soothsayer to know this. She could remember when she watched some KG soldiers blind the poor old woman and made it so that she could never speak again. In spite of this, she had heard that she had found other ways of being able to speak to others about what she could foresee. She was hoping that another particular seer was doing alright. Although another rumour was circling about the city that Aella had finally left. It was common knowledge that she had stayed on and was the leader of the Underground but the rumour was beginning to turn again and with Torn sending a message about wanting to see her and with 'some interesting news' it only meant one thing. It had been a while since she had seen Torn and she wanted to see how he was getting on. She at least wanted to know whether he was still alive or still had his teeth. With the scraps that he used to get into during training she saw the kind of trouble that he liked to get himself into let alone the ones which he suddenly found himself in.

Although thinking about it now this meeting was probably more about her rather than him. He was going to be more concerned about how she was getting on since her mother's death than how much she was going to be worrying about him. It was strange that it had only be a few weeks, probably a couple of months if she thought about it since she threw herself into the streets and crowds of Haven City. Just seeing the street painted with her blood was enough for her to have nightmares for weeks and she was a grown adult now. But really it was like her mother had two deaths. She had died long ago and now she had finally been able to give herself the second death. Ashelin would be lying if she said that she wasn't hoping for that second death as well. The death which would finally give her peace, the one where she could finally rest for an eternal sleep. All her mother needed was being able to sleep again and she couldn't really do that unless she or the Baron was out of this world. She heard a sound and jumped to her feet and put her hand on her gun in case it was an unwelcome guest to her reunion but when she heard the familiar chuckle she put her hand off her gun and turned away. Torn probably got a kick out of the fact that he could startle her so easily. She was always such a tough girl. Although she had heard since her mother's death she had become an even tougher girl and she had to admit that wasn't really a far cry from the truth.

"Hey you." He greeted with a grin on his face.

"Not dead yet then?"

"Not quite. So...I joined the Underground."

She chuckled. "Should you be telling me this? I might report that..."

He smiled contemplatively. "I suppose I like my chances."

"What was the other news you wanted to tell me. I know it isn't just about you joining the Underground. That's a given."

"Well I suppose you heard that Aella Auroalis left the city."

Her smile left her face and turned away. "So it is true..."

"You look disappointed."

She shrugged her shoulders. "She's the only reason why I became a Krimson Guard. My mother told me to be strong the future. She always told me I have to be brave for the future we were going to have. My father always wanted a son but my mother always had difficulty having children so he knew that I was his only chance for a son and she kind of blew it so...I suppose he made the best with what he had...I suppose he was kind of glad that I wanted to join the Krimson Guard but when I met her that one time...She was the only person who really told me that I could do anything I wanted. I guess...I just wanted to have that chance of thanking her for that before she left."

She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned round to find Torn looking down at her. "Well you never know...If the future turns out for the better you might see her again one day..."

~ (***) ~

She should have expected this really, to be called to his chambers. She shook all over as she walked up to the doors. She glanced in the direction of the other guards who spotted her in her bright red dress. It was made of the same thin material as the other dress she wore and was a little off the shoulders. Her blonde hair was draped down her shoulder which contrasted dramatically with her golden skin and bright attire. She supposed she ought to start making an effort now all considering. She took in a deep breath and waited patiently for the doors to open. When she heard the doors creak she stepped throw and the light from the flaming torches glowed against her skin and the sweet desert air hit her so dramatically it made her feel a little light headed. It was only going to be a matter of time for him to forgive her and let her back into his circle. She knew that the only remedy for this predicament was going to be time. Patience wasn't one of the virtues either of them had so this was going to be a difficult ride; nevertheless she knew it was going to be one that both of them would survive. Both of them had been able to struggle through worse than this. If he wasn't going to return things to as they were before, she was at least sure that this was just going to be the beginning of him being able to trust her again. She was pretty sure at this point that he was at least going to give her that.

"You wanted to see me."

He raised an eyebrow at her dress and turned away. She gulped and waited for him to be finished. She knew at this point she was still a subject and nowhere near the equal to him that she once was, where they could speak and joke with one another as if they were old friends. He put down whatever he was reading and in the usual pacing position he put his hands behind his back and stepped down from the throne until they were half a foot away from one another. The more closer he got the more she realised how much these four years had actually aged him. She almost had a mind to reached out and smooth away those wrinkles on his face. Her heart was beating in her chest so quickly she felt like it was going at the speed of a speed racer engine. She could feel his hot breath on her face. She could feel that fiery, passionate kiss on her lips once again. She was tempted to raise her hand to her lips to check whether it was the shadow of the kiss hovering there or whether it was actually him. The same intent gaze in his eyes which made her feel like she was naked. She could almost feel as if her dress was being slipped down her arms, back and legs. She felt hot and uncontrollable sensations in places which she had long forgotten.

"That dress suits you." He said finally.

He tilted his head and she frowned. After a long pause they both burst out laughing. "Thank you. So...You wanted to see me?"

He nodded curtly still with the same smile hovering over his lips. "I was just...I was looking through the things addressing the city and my people and I've been thinking of solutions to the problems we're experiencing but all I can think about is...Why you came back."

She blinked. "I told you I was only-"

"Yes, but I think there's more to that than what you told me when you came back. You could have stayed but you didn't."

She fiddled with her fingers and was tempted to bite her nails like a school girl but she stopped herself.

"Alright. I was going to come back here...One day. But when I returned to the city, Duke and Shayna died."

Damas knew who they were and his eyes filled with empathised sadness and nodded. "I am sorry, Aella."

"I...I realised that was no longer the place for me. I had something to lose but I only realised when I lost it. I wanted to find something else to fight for...Otherwise what's the point in fighting for if not for some cause? What's the point in living when you have nothing to live for?" She paused and saw that Damas was going to quietly sit there until she was finished rather than butt in with comical comments. "I suppose I began to see why you left. I...It wasn't my home any more. I had no other reason other than...I had no reason to fight for it any more."

"What was the reason? You were about to say the reason but you stopped." She turned to him with a scared expression on her face. "What? Is it something I don't want to hear?"

She smiled and shook her head. "No. It's something I'm afraid to tell you."


	26. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Jak and Daxter

Chapter Twenty-Six

For **Darth Melly**

_You should know that things aren't always as they seem. _

_So why still swim in the depths of a tide that's pulling you in? _

_Makes you think your life has been a waste of time._

_Leave the shade and step out into the glare. _

_Peace of mind awaits you there. _

_Don't be afraid to stand your ground._

_Don't be ashamed of who you are. _

_Never had the help to find your way, _

_There's nothing you could do or say. _

_You had to find your own mistakes to learn. _

_Just look inside of you, _

_You've got to find your own way through. _

_~ Gonna Be Fine, Amy Studt, False Smiles_

It was a hot evening. When she left it finally occurred to her as to how hot it was. When she was in the throne room with Damas she felt like she couldn't breathe. She wanted to run away as soon as she told him how afraid she was. She was scared that he might be able to pick out the truth from that and be able to see that she really wasn't that strong at all but she was weak. She was as weak as any woman which had been thrown in his direction to be a potential wife when he was the King of Haven City. She remembered watching them and there was always a moment when he did consider them but only for a moment and she would feel hot and sick in the stomach and now she knew why she felt that way. Even in that thin red dress she felt like the material was sticking to her skin like a second layer so she decided to take a bath. She was pretty sure it was because of being there with him. The sweat from that imagined passion which could have happened if she simply gave himself to him, but if she did that she would be no better than a sacrificial lamb. Calli seemed to anticipate this since when she walked in she was already pouring water into the tub and Aella smiled gratefully. She was beginning to take off her dress but then she heard Calli make a noise and she glanced up.

"Do you want me to leave?"

Aella smiled and shook her head. She was beginning to get used to the fact that Calli was so used to nakedness. From the life she had led it shouldn't have been that surprising to her though it was probably because she had never been intimate with another human being let alone having a close friend who had seen her somewhat naked. She knew her mother had a friend she used to go out with on those nights when she would spend most of her wages on drinking rather than the rent and she would sit on her bed while her mother went through outfit after outfit until she found the right one. She would watch her intently even when she was more or less naked with her legs dangling out the side of the bed almost as if she was studying every curve and line on her body. The memory of those nights made Aella shiver with someone which she was always uncertain of until she met Damas. It was then she would retreat to nights when she would imagine his every curve, muscle and joint, like an imaginary hand hovering over his imaginary body. She gulped and tried to control her emotions as she slipped out of her dress and turned around to step into the warm bath. She glanced at Calli and smiled nervously.

"I don't know why I'm so...I mean you've given me a bath before..." She said shaking her head.

Calli waved her hand. "It's fine. I can leave if you want."

"No." She said a little forcibly. "I'd like your company."

Calli smiled gratefully and knelt beside her and brushed her fingers against the surface of the water. She sat there for a while doing this as Aella watched her. It was the look in her eyes as she did this, she was completely fixated with the concept of water. There was something almost childlike in the girls expression it was like she had never seen water before. There was something innocent about the way that she looked at it, it was almost adorable. Aella would never have thought that she would appreciate such company. A giggle escaped from her lips and Calli looked up as sharply as a startled deer and started at her for a moment and slowly a small smile spread across her lips and she turned back to the water. She lifted her hand and wriggled her fingers as droplets of water rained down on the surface and Aella tilted her head. It very rarely rained in Haven City but whenever it did Aella would run out in the streets when she knew everyone else was asleep or her mother was gone and she would spin under the raining skies. She found it strange really how one could be so close to another without having it to go any further when really it was going beyond the norm anyway. She supposed she had never been told what was right or wrong when she was growing up. She had to figure all of that out for herself.

"Is it too warm?"

Aella shook her head. "No. Calli...I wanted to apologise about when before I left. I talked to cruelly and I shouldn't have done."

Calli shrugged her shoulders. "It's fine. I'm used to worser tempers."

Aella shook her head. "That life is long behind you, Calli. I hope you know that. I'll threaten the King with his life if he dares to send you back to that life."

Calli smiled. "Thereis no need for such actions, my lady."

"Aella." She corrected. "You must call me Aella...You see I have never really had a friend. Someone who I feel knows how I have felt...or had a life almost like the one I have had..."

Calli smiled sweetly and nodded. "I would like that very much."

"Did you have many friends growing up?"

Calli shrugged her shoulders as she washed her back. "Not very many. Only when I was a very young girl. Then when I was sold to the owner of the brothel...Well I had to contend with the company of the other whores and even their company was anything to desire. You could never really trust anyone in that life other than yourself."

Aella nodded and leaned back and relaxed in the water for a moment. "That is why I like you, Calli. You are a survivor. Like me."

"The King told me that you had a hard childhood. A mother who never cared much for you and that you never knew your father."

Aella's eyes were closed but she raised an eyebrow. "The King has told me an awful lot about me."

"I think he intended for me to be your serving lady before he even had the chance to snatch you away from the desert."

Aella grinned. "Sounds like something he would do..."

Calli began to massage her wrists and Aella felt herself sink further into the warm waters enclosing around her like a warm blanket.

"Where are you going?" She heard Calli ask, her voice was becoming a little more distant than it was before and Aella smirked.

"Make sure I don't drown..."

She sank into the white light which surrounded her and she saw only shadows, distant shadows or those no bigger, no smaller than a child's shadow looming near her and knew that it was them.

**Yes, child.**

_I just felt like we hadn't spoken in a while. _

**We see that you've finally gone back on the path which we set for you. **

_Aren't you going to thank me?_

**This is no time for jokes, child. But we are grateful for your efforts. **

_I would hope so..._

**We can feel you calling to the future.**

_Yeah I thought I might make a call there. See if there is anything I need to know._

**You know what your destiny is.**

_I think its about time I embraced my destiny don't you?_

_**Greetings great warrior! Your return brings us great hope. This planet's future is at a critical juncture. The Dark Ones have found your world again, and fate hangs in the balance where the past and the future collide. **_

_**You will need all the power you can muster to survive this terrible test, great one. **_

_**It doesn't matter now. Jak, I need you to come back to the city. We're losing the fight. Veger is drunk on power and he's taken command. He doesn't understand what he's up against. I need you... **_

_**So the hero I knew did die in the desert or was it long before that? Don't you remember who you are? **_

_**I'm through saving the world. **_

_You never told me that it was more than saving the city..._

**I suppose there was a part of us which thought that it was better you never knew that part of his destiny...**

It was always so abrupt when she came back and almost slipped in the tub if it wasn't for Calli holding her. She glanced at her and nodded.

"Thank you."

She grinned a little. "You're welcome...What did you dream about?"

"Dark times ahead...flickering lights in the darkest nights...All that kind of wise crap. How long was I gone for?"

"About twenty minutes."

She frowned. "It was always seems like I hardly spend any time in there at all."

Calli leaned forward with an intent look on her face. "What happens? When you see the future?"

"It's almost like I go to another place." She began. "A place filled with nothingness...Filled with a bright light. It's...a blank slate which is soon filled by things which you need to either see of hear. It's like you die for a moment and then when you're done you come back. It's like your soul drifts to another plane and then drifts back again like waves on the shore." She added pushing the now cold water in the tub. "I think I best get out."

Calli raised her eyebrows. "Yes...We can't the King's favourite girl dying of a cold."


	27. Chapter 27

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Jak and Daxter

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, when I said at the beginning of writing this story I said it was going to be fifty-odd chapters...Well I've kind of dramatically shortened it. In fact the chapter after this one is going to be the final chapter, however there is going to be another story and then that will be the end of the prequel trilogy to the main series. So, just letting you know what's going on...**

Chapter Twenty-Seven

For **xXxrisenangelxXx**

_I feel you,_

_Inside me,_

_And slowly I'm gone._

_I'm losing it quietly_

_Drawn into the sun._

_Lovers go and lovers come_

_It's the same for everyone._

_For my life I'm holding on, it's fragile, precious._

_I see you,_

_Inside me,_

_And softly I'm done._

_I'm falling, _

_I'm melting like liquid, I run._

_Lovers all and lovers none_

_But it changes everyone._

_For a moment, then it's gone, it's fragile, precious._

_Count the seconds away to the sound of your heart._

_What a beautiful day to get lost in the dark._

_It's endless, _

_Completeness._

_I drown in your arms,_

_My senses awakening_

_How freeing you are._

_From the depths of where I came_

_To the embers of my flame._

_I feel like a child again, I'm fragile, restless._

_Count the seconds away to the sound of your heart._

_~ Seconds Away, Amy Studt, False Smiles_

~ (***) ~

_People think of home as a place where you stand still and look out on the world from your own little circle of security and contentment. There's nothing wrong with the contentment and security, but there was is something I have to say about the concept of home being a place let alone a place where you stand still. Although one thing I have learned is that life is more of a journey. A physical and emotional one. Everyone experiences a journey of some kind. Maybe spiritual (and that could be said for myself as well), intellectual. It can be any kind of journey. You travel even when you're still sitting still. Through learning you can even travel from one place to another. When you change you travel and you can even find yourself greeting the person you're supposed to be. It was strange when I found myself greeting that person. They seemed familiar but also alien to me, despite the fact that I was aware that this was me standing right in front of me. It was also frightening because I was the only one who could see her. She was like a ghost who haunted me in the only place no one could reach except for myself and her. I was only going to be able to cease this haunting until I did the one thing which frightened me more than anything. Although by this point the idea of this no longer seemed that daunting._

_I suppose I was so afraid because the idea of coming to the end everything which needed to be done on my part seemed to represent the end of my worth, the end of my life and I felt that would be a too abrupt ending. A death which came too soon. I wanted to live almost for as long as humanly possible. I wanted to live through those years which Onin lived. I wanted to be able to see the world in a different way to the way I see it now, when I am so young and alive. I wanted to see changes. It wasn't enough for me to see them in visions. I wanted to experience these times. I wanted to be there with you. I hoped for too much rather than be thankful the amount of life which I had already experienced. Not a lot of people were lucky enough to meet the love of their life at the age of twenty-two. Most of the time it took a lifetime in comparison to that number. Shayna and Duke being one example. My mother was never even able to meet her own soul-mate, if that's what we are to call them. I have learnt two things but that day, by the time when I realised the true extent of your own destiny. First, that this is not the end. _

_And second: It's better to just give in, even if we don't feel like we deserve it. It's better to take the chance while we can. _

~ (***) ~

Amos was beginning to become accustomed to this new environment. He was getting used to the sound of the wind at night. The smell of the flowers from the forest surrounding the temple drifting in the air in the early hours of the morning. He was a little weary about being in the middle of nowhere. Some nights he would lay awake wondering if the Metal-heads were going to attack the temple but every night would pass and they would never come. He had become a bit of a cynic over the years so whenever he heard 'the Precursors will protect us' he couldn't help but think that the Precursors had turned their back on this world. Just looking at the way things were turning out, he didn't blame the decrease in people who still believed in them. At first even the length of time he was going to remain welcome there was a little uncertain. Metrodona glanced in his direction with a little uncertainty and Yumi was always glaring in his direction. Now Metrodona was almost skipping over to him again. Yumi was still glaring at him thought. Then again these things never mended themselves over night.

Patience had always been a good teacher to both him and Metrodona. They learnt that in their first years as monks to the Precursors. They would spend hours in the temples praying to them until they knew that had actually spoke to them. Such certainty in a belief took a little longer than the amount of time most people spent on praying. He had to patient until he decided to throw himself back into the fray of lives of those he left behind. Metrodona had to be patient with him and waiting for cure for the guilt which weighed her down in her chest. He had been to so many places, met so many people that everything had become a blur. It was like a dream, there were some things which were missing. It was like he was watching someone else's life rather than his own. He felt like he had lost himself, his soul had drifted away and that it was so out of his reach now that there was no way he was going to be able to beckon it back to him let alone reach out and try and bring it back to him. He had become so detached from the world that he no longer felt like he was a part of it. He felt like a ghost that was never able to find any rest, searching for something he was unable to find because he wasn't entirely sure of what that exactly was, all he knew that it was the only thing which was going to give him any rest.

He looked out on the horizon and took in a deep breath. "Are you alright?"

He turned around and saw her white hair shining like the moon against the last rays of the sun. She looked out on the horizon for a moment, she looked like she was dwelling on a thought of her own and tilted her head.

"I was wondering...How long can I stay?"

She turned to him with a calm expression on her face. "For as long as you like."

He smiled grimly. "I have a feeling though...That I might not be welcome for much longer."

She pressed her lips together and reached out to him. She rested her hand on her shoulder. "If I had a choice in the matter, which I do to a certain extent, you would stay here forever."

He chuckled and patted her hand. "Donna, you're too kind to me. Kinder than I deserve."

"You me both." She murmured.

~ (***) ~

_She never had a dream like this before. Nothing as clear and to the point. Usually she was going through flashes, there were things in between the most important parts which were missing. This was continuous. Nothing was skipped. She couldn't hear anything this time. It was like it was put on mute but considering what she was being shown she supposed she didn't need to hear anything to know what was happening. She felt like a ghost watching herself. She was staring out into the night, torchlight being the only thing which lit the room. The flames dancing against her golden skin. She could see herself shaking, this was something else. She had never seen visions of her own future. She was scared? No. She was cold? Far from it. She was desperate. Maybe. She was waiting for someone. She wanted them badly but she didn't know who it was. Then she saw a figure walking through the vision and slid his arms around her waist. He smoothed his hands over her dress as if she had nothing there at all and buried his face in her neck. She threw her head back gracefully and moulded her body against his. Aella could feel herself go hot all over in the places where Damas was touching her future self. He saw his mouth move, he was saying something to her which made her other self smile and she glanced at him for a moment, as if she was hesitating, considering whatever it was that he was asking her and then nodded. _

_He took her by the wrist and turned her round. He reached out and took her face with one hand and slowly slipped her dress off with the other. She could feel herself breathing as heavily as she was in this scene. Her body language suggested that she wanted him. She wanted him to do whatever it was he wanted from her. She could feel the tickling, feathery sensation of the dress slipping down her body. Then her desire took over her violently and she rushed forward and everything became a blur of kisses and removal of remaining clothing. Skin glowing against the flames, sweat glistening against the darkness, if the vision was not muted she would hear the echoing cries from the two lovers and then the strange silence which followed after they were satisfied. As she watched this she felt like she had melted into the wall which she leant against as she watched the hours and hours of love-making and felt like she couldn't breathe. She was shaking now as she was at the beginning and she threw her head back aching for what lay in store for her. She wanted it. She needed it. She begged to be released from the memory so that she would be able to have it as soon as possible. _

"AELLA!"

Aella sat up so quickly that she bumped heads with Calli who had her by the shoulders while she unconscious. Calli and Aella fell back on the floor and moaned for a moment.

"Sorry." Aella mumbled.

She wasn't in that much pain, she had to admit but she could judge from the scrunched up expression on Calli's face that she had never really been through that much pain in her life. And she was talking about an ex-prostitute.

"I was trying to wake you up." She explained in a slightly annoyed voice.

"I noticed. What's the emergency?"

"There's an attack on the city. Damas has gone with the army but I don't know whether that will be enough to fight them off."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Metal-heads are attacking the city-"

"Like I said I was trying to wake yo- Where are you going?"

Aella sighed and glanced over her shoulder before walking out the door. "Where do you think?"

~ (***) ~

Damas rolled out of the way when he looked up and saw a metal head towering over him and about to throw its claw down upon him. He looked up from the ground and fired his gun at it and roared at he did so until it collapsed on the ground. He grunted and got to his feet. He took a quick glance around and tried to quickly calculate which would be more beneficial. He knew he wasn't to think too much in a battle situation. He had to work on his feet, go with his instincts but right now he wasn't entirely sure of what his instincts was telling him. Stay or fight on. He hadn't lost that many men yet but he knew that this would only increase as time went by and he didn't want to risk that. More people may come in but it was no wise move to fight on when you could run to fight another day. A day when your chances were a little better. While he was thinking of this another metal head crept up behind him, the second he glanced over his shoulder it already had its weapon throw overhead about to crash down on Damas' skull only for someone to attack it from behind and it feel down with a cry. Damas breathed a sigh of relief and scolded himself for thinking too much in such a situation. He glanced up and saw Aella panting, face covered in blood and dirt, gun in hand. She looked magnificent. She glanced around probably thinking about the same thing and turned to Damas.

"What are you going to do?"

He shook his head. "I don't know. If we run-" He threw his arm out to slash at a creatures throat. "They'll follow us into the city and they may attempt to break the wall. "If we stay...That is uncertain."

Aella aimed at a metal head running towards her and took it out with a couple of shots. "Damas, you have to make the call now." She gulped and he knew she wasn't finished. "I'll stand by you whatever decision you make."

He blinked and turned back to her. He felt like something was stuck in his throat. Words which were struggling to get out, a cry waiting to be released. Maybe it was a mixture of both those things. He knew now that was all he needed to hear. That just as long as he went with his guts nothing was going to go wrong. That there was going to be someone to stand by him. In the times when she was the only person he ever listened to, life was easier, clearer. She was the only who had been able to make him laugh, he felt something whenever she delved deeper into her tale of woe without him scoffing and thinking that she needed to feel less sorry for herself. It wasn't so much of a struggle every single day. She made it easier to know what the right thing was. She wasn't sure of everything either but she always went where her heart took her. She was a free spirit. People around her screamed one thing and she was able to think in another direction. She was always able to stick with her guts. That was the kind of person that he wanted, that was the kind of person that he needed. He needed her for everything. For every person needed another in life. He began to feel all those old feeling flooding back. It was slowly coming back to him like a dripping tap but now that dam had crumbled and it was all coming back to him.

"Move forward." He commanded gravely.

She turned back to him with her bright blue eyes and nodded. There was a small part of her which hoped that he would say otherwise but the other side of her was exhilarated. She knew very early on in her life that she felt at home when she was fighting. Spargus was her home now and she knew it always would be the place that was where she was supposed to be. She ran forwards and shot in as many directions as she could. Firing at all of them without missing. Her chest heaved after she had ran all the way through the battlefield. It was like a race, who could make it to the other side and back. At least she would be able to say that she had been able to do that without being killed, that is she was still around to brag about that. She had been trained enough as a killer to know when she needed to drive all that energy in a controlled manner in order to do what needed to be done efficiently. She was surrounded by madness but she wasn't scared. She made sure that she wasn't sucked into it. That was the real secret of it all, to make sure that you stayed sane rather than being dragged too deeply into the bloodshed. She gulped and began to fire at the biggest metal head there along with a lot of the other fighters there.

"Damas..." She gasped.

She looked around and realised he wasn't anywhere near her. She looked through the crowds and for a moment she thought that he was injured but was able to see after a while that he was fine. She looked around and was uncertain now whether he made the right call. More people were dying by the second and it the long run that wasn't going to benefit them at all. She closed her eyes and opened up her hands causing her gun to drop from her hands. She took in a deep breath and went deep inside herself. She remembered from her first trial that there was a power deep inside her and she was sure that it was going to be one which would help her now. It would bring it all to an end. The metal heads may not even come anywhere close to the walls ever again. She was sweating now from the strain and she heard people screaming her name. She opened her eyes and saw a red glow coming out of her hands and was frightened at first and looked up to see Damas staring at her. He was afraid for her too and she knew now what she had to put that behind her. She had to be brave, just as she always had been. She threw back her head and screamed.

She felt like she was throwing everything bad inside her away. She had spent so many years with all that baggage and now it was time to discard it. It was time for her to be the one who would be in control of her destiny. Even if it meant that she was going to follow what had already been written. Or maybe she could at least have the dignity to say that she wrote some of it herself. All those things her mother told her when she was a child. All those words were gone now. All those things Krew made her do. Those dreams which haunt her, those ghosts which taunted her were finally going to evaporate into the air and leave her alone. All those terrible things she did when she could have said no were going to be forgotten but remembered when such times arose once again. Mistakes were no longer going to haunt her but teach her. All those regretful lies which she told to people were now going to be just words. All those things which she had done were going to be cast aside now. It was just the past. She had been putting this off for too long and she was going to give herself more time so that she wouldn't mess it up. She had messed up a lot of things which had to do with all this but she wasn't going to continue to mess up. There was too much at stake in all this for her to continue putting it off. In the very last moment when a whirlwind of red light surrounded her for a moment she was somewhere between rage and perfect serenity and smiled.


	28. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Jak and Daxter

**AUTHOR NOTE: Okay, special thanks are in order considering that this is the final chapter. Not of Aella's story but its the final one of this story so...Thanks to Ecomadness, spzzzin, Azeres and Mental Verin for all the reviews. It always reassures me that people are actually reading my stories when I find that there are reviews. Another thanks to Azeres and Ecomadness and Flouder5 for favouriting my story. Azeres, Ecomadness, Mental Verin and Will of the Heart thank you for alerting it. A special thanks to the people who have been reading this since Krimson Underground. I hope everyone enjoyed this (as much as they could). There is going to be another story called Destined Mother as a follow up to this story but that is going to be the final story except for another two additional stories. Whether Aella may or may not be involved in those stories is yet undecided. Anyway, final thanks before you can read the rest of this, see you later!**

**PixieGirl17**

Epilogue

For **GreyJedi**

_They kept a saying; you don't wanna go playing, with the big boys._

_Just stick to the backyard; just stay in your mothers arms._

_Did you expect me to believe all of the evil lies you whispered when the lights went out?_

_There's good in everyone, but you only taught me how to hate._

_I'm trying hard just to hold my head up from the shadows_

_There's more dark than light in me_

_But you painted that, but you created that_

_So keep on walking by, don't turn around, just stop pretending that you care_

_For all the false smiles, there's another dying child_

_Give me another taste,_

_Of what you've got to give, I know that I can live life afraid_

_Take me, one last time_

_I wanna feel the pain; I wanna feel the shame all the way_

_I want to feel_

_I'm realising how much that you can hide behind a pretty face_

_All the secrets that lie inside, jump out and scar leave without a trace_

_So I believe I'll find salvation on the other side of the road_

_For all the false smiles, there's another dying child _

_I'll keep on fighting, keep on writing all the things that you don't want to hear_

_Just because I'll strike a home truth, of what you want to make disappear _

_I'll never disappear _

_~ False Smiles, Amy Studt, False Smiles_

~ (***) ~

When Aella next opened her eyes she just saw light. She couldn't see whether she was in a room or whether she was alone, all she could see was light, the kind of light which you saw at sunrise when you were being welcomed to a new day and a new second chance. She was used to waking up to the world again and again and again. After seeing the future she would wake up to the world. When she blasted off those metal heads which came into the city all those years ago she was awakened to the new world she would now live in. When she crashed into a building after a stint in drink driving she woke up yet again to the world. She was always waking up after a battle of some kind, didn't need to be an actual battle in the conventional sense. It was like her mind and body couldn't take it most of the time. Her body was always exhausted after doing the impossible because it wasn't used to going under such strain then again she was never used to being so brave. So what she had gone into a metal head nest countless times and stared into the eyes of such monsters. So what that she had been through a period of drinking too much to drown away the sorrows. So what? She had never really been this brave until now. It was because of those cowardly things she had done before joining the KG which had prevents her from being a real hero.

"Aella?"

She grunted and sat up, she heard a pair of feet quickly skip over to her and a hand on the centre of her back. She glanced up and saw a pair of familiar, concerned eyes.

She smiled. "Callie...You're alright."

The corner of Callie's mouth jerked up for a moment and nodded. "Yeah...I'm fine. Everyone else's been more concerned about you though. Nothing new there, huh?" She joked.

She slowly put a leg out of the bed and then other and inhaled deeply slowly exhaling. Her body ached more than she realised.

"Are you alright?"

She nodded. "Yes. I...Where's Damas?"

She nodded in a general direction of the throne room. "He's where he usually is. Although...The people were asking for your final trial. He refused but they are becoming impatient."

She gave her a look. "After a few hours? I mean...I must have scared them but not that much..."

"Aella you've been out for days."

Aella cocked her head to the side. "Still...I would understand if it was weeks. But days?" She sighed and got to her feet a little too quickly. "Well I suppose nothing can be done about it. If they want a little entertainment...I suppose I ought to give it to them..." She swayed a little and Callie caught her in time and smirked.

"Maybe not quite yet."

"Maybe." She reasoned. "Callie, did you see what I did? Were you watching?"

She nodded a little nervously or certainly. Aella wasn't sure. "Yes."

She gulped knowing she had to ask the next question although she wasn't sure whether she wanted to hear Callie's answer.

"What I did...Did it frighten you? Did it frighten the people?" She asked nervously.

Callie smirked. "No...A little but...Did it frighten you?"

Aella licked her lips. "It's funny. It should frighten me. It usually frightens me but this time...I almost felt at peace. What I did..."

For some reason she glanced down at herself noticing yet again she was naked but found there were scars and burns all across her body. She was used to her scars now. They were everywhere, it was the life of a warrior such as herself to have scars. But these burns had never been there before. Her hands shook as she looked at them. She knew that they frightened her more than anything she had ever seen. It just occurred to her then and there that she could have died that day.

"Aella?"

She quickly glanced at Callie. "I wonder whether they will ever trust me again. The people. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't."

Callie took her by the shoulder and shook her head. "They are grateful for what you did. But there is some concern as to whether...They want you to complete the trials." She shook her head.

Aella nodded curtly. "Yes...and they shall not wait any longer."

She jumped to her feet and began to change into her armour and clothing. Callie made no objections this time. She just watched her dress herself without stopping. After a while Aella wondered why she hadn't said anything. She looked over her shoulder and saw Callie was gone. She smiled thinking that she had probably gone to tell Valador or the King to convince her to do otherwise. It was something she would probably do. As she changed she was thinking about how she had gotten to this place. She looked around and marvelled at how she had gotten here. How she could have found the will to bring herself here. She remembered as a child her mother trying to convince her that she could be no better than what she had brought herself to and began to chuckle to herself. She thought back to that cold, stinking room and knew that she was so far from that place now that she would never be able to return there even if she wanted to. There was nothing for her to fear, she was so scared as a child because she thought that was really true. She thought that she would end up as a street corner whore and now she was here. There was nothing to fear but fear itself. The moment she banished those thoughts away was the moment when she saw that the wall was no longer there.

"Aella."

The croaky, rough voice called to her like a spear through the heart. She had stopped what she was going the second his voice echoed through the room. He had already grabbed her by the shoulders before she could turn around. He actually looked like he was going to cry.

"You're alright."

Her smile faltered for a moment. "I'm fine."

"Callie says that you want to go to the arena...I don't know...Are you going...I don't want to think about this."

"I hear the people doubt my use and my presence." She replied.

"Is that all you care about?"

She turned away to buckle her last boot. "That is what matters to you."

He blinked she could see from the way he was shaking he was becoming agitated. "But what about you? What matters to you?"

"Whatever my purpose is or may be. You know that." She added calmly.

"And what do you think that is? What is it that you see which makes you...be the way that you are?" He demanded holding her tightly.

She looked at him desperately wanting him to know the truth but she was unsure whether she was going to be able to tell him in a way which would make him believe her. She wished she could make him see but there was no way that she could be able to allow him to see into her mind.

"I just want to be with you any way I can." She admitted shakily. "I need to-"

She was cut off at this point as he had grabbed the back of her head and could feel his teeth biting on her lips. She held onto him as if she was holding onto her last breath. Her mind went numb and the world seemed to be light years away from where they were. As hours seemed to pass they soon drifted away from one another and finally gave one another a moment to catch their breath. The sound of the crowds roared from the distance beckoning her to the final trial which she would take but knew that would not be the last she would have to face in her lifetime. She strode away from him and before she walked out the door he stopped her by asking,

"You will be back?"

She stopped without smiling she looked over her shoulder and replied, "You know I will."


End file.
